Starlit Sky 10: A Well Trodden Path
by warriorfreak
Summary: Sequel to Map of the Worlds Robinflight and his pack move on...and so does Jack. An unexpected enemy is back and huanting Robinflight's mind. Can Robinflight escape the cruel reign of two new villians? Sequel: Small Expectations C 2008 warriorfreak
1. Chapter 1: Where Stars Shine

**Weeee I'm back! I'm really excited to write this story! **

**First off, this book should be fairly good.**

**All the characters are a year older, which means Robinflight is now 13. This does not mean a year has past since Map of the Worlds, it just means that they were almost 13 in Map of the Worlds, and now are.**

**I hope this book will be longer then the last.**

**You are soon to meet someone really weird…**

**And now, I present….**

**A Well Trodden Path!**

**ThunderClan**

**Leader**- _Ravenstar_- dark tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes

**Deputy**- _Rockpool_- dark grey tom with strong legs and dark blue eyes, apprentice, Neptunepaw

**Medicine cat**- _Silverheart_- dark silver tabby she-cat with amber eyes, apprentice, Pollenpaw

**Warriors**- _Shrewtail _- grey and brown tom with amber eyes

_Birchoak_- brown tom with yellow eyes

_Stalkleg_- stalky grey tom with ice-blue eyes, apprentice, Saturnpaw

_Hollysky_- dark tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes, apprentice, Marshpaw

_Flametail_ – flame colored she-cat with yellow eyes, apprentice, Arrowpaw

_Sorreltail_ – tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes

_Ferncloud_- grey she-cat with darker flecks and blue eyes, apprentice, Whitepaw

_Hunterclaw_- light tan tom with yellow eyes, apprentice, Batpaw

_Snowfeather_- white with silver flecked she-cat with blue eyes, apprentice, Stonepaw

_Nightwind_- thick furred black she-cat with ice-blue eyes, apprentice, Venuspaw

_Leafcloud_- ginger and white she-cat with amber eyes, apprentice, Mercurypaw

_Yarrowbone_- Tortoiseshell and white she-cat, no eyes, is blind.

**Apprentices**-

_Arrowpaw_- dark red tabby tom with darker red stripes and red eyes

_Stonepaw_- grey tabby tom with blue eyes

_Whitepaw_- long-haired white she-cat with yellow eyes

_Batpaw_- smoky grey tom with large, wing-like shoulders and blue eyes

_Pollenpaw_- grey tabby she-cat with white chest and face, soft brown eyes

_Saturnpaw_- very black she-cat, impossible to see at night and very sleek, with white chest and paws and golden eyes

_Venuspaw_- dull black she-cat with golden eyes

_Neptunepaw_- very light black tom, almost dark grey, with golden eyes

_Mercurypaw_- dark black tom with golden eyes

_Marshpaw_- tan tom with ocean blue eyes. Highly aggressive

**Queens**-

_Whiteflower-_ milky white she-cat with light blue eyes (Mate: Shrewtail)

**Kits**- none yet

**ShadowClan**

**Leader- **_Cederstar_- orange tabby tom with black stripes

**Deputy-**_Rowanclaw_- dark ginger she-cat with blue eyes

**Medicine cat- **_Bluewind- _blue-grey tabby tom

**Warriors- **_Birdclaw_- great big grey tabby tom with big shoulder muscles

_Treepelt_- wiry brown tabby tom

_Pinepelt_- long, straight ginger fur and amber eyes

_Graytail_- light grey tabby tom with a quivery tail

_Chipmunktalon_- light brown tom with large front teeth and blue eyes apprentice Yowlpaw

_Rabbitfluff_- rabbit-coloured tom, very jumpy and easily frightened apprentice Shriekpaw

_Pinonpine_- grey tabby she-cat spotted with blue, blue eyes, apprentice Sparrowpaw

_Firestorm_- smoky black tom, like the embers of a fire apprentice Screampaw

_Junipertree_- normal-looking grey tabby tom with yellow eyes apprentice Shoutpaw

**Apprentices- **

_Sparrowpaw_- brown and grey tabby tom with bright green eyes

_Yowlpaw_- dark orange tom, almost red with light green eyes

_Shriekpaw_- light orange tom with yellow eyes

_Screampaw_- very pale orange she-kit, almost white, with amber eyes

_Shoutpaw_- medium orange tom with green eyes

**Queens- **_Aspenleaf_- beautiful calico she-cat with deep amber eyes (Mate: Birdclaw)

**Kits**_- Fightingkit- _fiery orange tom (Aspenleaf's)

_Strongkit- _muscular grey tabby tom (Aspenleaf's)

_Carefulkit- _tiny pretty brown she-kit (Aspenleaf's)

_Daintykit- _careful grey she-cat (Aspenleaf's)

**RiverClan**

**Leader- **_Hawkstar_- dark tabby tom with ice-blue eyes and long claws

**Deputy- **_Darkclaw_- dark brown tom with black stripes and yellow eyes

**Medicine Cat- **_Willowtail_- pretty ginger she-cat, apprentice Palebody

**Warriors- **_Gingertail_- light ginger she-cat with a bright orange tail and yellow eyes

_Beechfur_- light brown tom with yellow eyes, apprentice Streampaw

_Feathertail_- pretty silver she-cat, apprentice, Riverpaw

_Heartfur_- dark ginger she-cat with kind amber eyes

_Wovenlife_- tan she-cat with yellow eyes, apprentice Lakepaw

_Crispcloud_- light brown she-cat with crisp fur

_Tawnyleopard_- tawny colored she-cat with ice-blue eyes, apprentice Oceanpaw

_Runningriver_- swift dark tabby tom

_Tantail_- tan tom with golden eyes

_Shallowfire_- silver she-cat with bright orange splotches, light green eyes

**Apprentices-** _Palebody_- pale ginger she-cat with pale yellow eyes

_Streampaw_- silver-blue she-cat with ice-blue eyes

_Riverpaw_- light blue-grey tom with ice-blue eyes

_Lakepaw_- dark blue-grey tom with ice-blue eyes

_Oceanpaw_- ice-blue she-cat with ice-blue eyes

**Queens**_**- **__Feathertail_- pretty silver she-cat

**Kits- **none yet

**WindClan****-**

**Leader- **_Mudstar_- mud colored tom with blue eyes

**Deputy- **_Owlfeather_- brown and grey tom with amber eyes

**Medicine Cat- **_Kestrelcloud_- light brown tom

**Warriors- **_Crowfeather_- smoky grey tom, almost black with amber eyes

_Haretail_- tan tom

_Heatherfur_- ginger she-cat with heather-colored eyes, apprentice Saplingpaw

_Breezeclaw_- snappy light grey tabby tom

_Weaselfur_- weasel colored tom with blue eyes

_Whitetail_- white she-cat, apprentice Birchpaw

_Bouncetalon_- bouncy she-cat, apprentice Sycamorepaw

_Hawkpelt_- dark brown tom with ocean-blue eyes

_Swiftfoot_- swift white she-cat

_Rabbitbouncer_- bouncy ginger she-cat

_Sealswim_- ginger she-cat with ice-blue eyes

_Deepocean_- dark ocean-blue and grey tom with dark brown eyes

_Dampdribble_- pale ginger she-cat, apprentice Oakpaw

**Apprentices**- _Oakpaw_- brown tom with amber eyes

_Birchpaw_- light brown tom with amber eyes

_Sycamorepaw_- dark brown tom, almost black, with amber eyes

_Saplingpaw_- very light brown tom, almost white, with amber eyes

**Queens- **_Bouncetalon_- bouncy she-cat

**Kits- **none yet

**Other Animals**

_Robin_- small dark tan and orange male cheetah with dark orange eyes and thick brown feathered bird-wings

**Other Characters**

_Jack_- pale skinned man with dark brown hair and pale green eyes

_Mad_- Grey furred Timer with mangy grey bird wings, yellow eyes

**The Pack**

**Alpha**- _Robinflight_- 13 year old boy with dark brown hair and dark, bright blue eyes; huge black bat wings

**Followers**- _Shadowflight_- Young woman with long hair and pale skin; bright, dark green eyes and huge black bat wings, 22 years old

_Selena_- long dark brown haired girl and amber eyes; reflective green/black dragon wings; 13 years old

_Willow_- blond haired boy with bright yellow eyes, brown eagle wings, 13 years old

**Yearlings**- _Cora_- Asian girl with shoulder length black hair, chocolate brown eyes and pale tan skin; ginger sparrow wings and 11 years old

**Scapegoat**- _Mac_- auburn haired boy with hazel eyes, grey osprey wings; 11 years old

_**Chapter 1, Where Stars Shine**_

City lights sparkled below them as Robinflight and his pack raced across the freezing sky and headed for the forest.

"We're ready! Head down!" Robinflight called, bringing in his wings a little bit and tilting downward so he sped to the ground. He landed neatly, and the pack gathered around him.

"Let's get to sleep," he said. He could see that Cora was yawning. Willow and Selena both looked a little tired.

As the pack settled down, drawing their wings around them, Selena crawled over to Robinflight.

"Where are you going next?" she asked, "I mean, in the morning?"

"Well…let's see," he said, "Probably back to the city for food then…well, I want to find that old woman, you know the one Mad talked about, who he said made everyone have wings…"

"Yeah," Selena muttered. "Ok, I'm with you." Then she flopped down and fell asleep.

Robinflight stared up at the stars and tried hard to fall asleep.

And he did.

**Short I know. Gotta get off in three minutes. Next update on Friday! Yes, Rockpool is on the allegiances list for a reason…**


	2. Chapter 2: A 'Little' Talk

_**Chapter 2, A 'Little' Talk**_

His feet made dimples in the soft ground. He had kicked off his boots long ago, he hated them. They were just another sign that he loved being a robot. Which he didn't.

The pine trees towered above him as Robinflight walked through the ink black forest. He knew where he was. He knew this was the place where the old woman lived, the old woman who knew the secret of the wings.

His pack were sleeping around the fire, but he had left the far behind. He did not want them. He did not want their noise.

He was wanted by many. He wanted none. He knew who wanted him. Tons of Timers and Jack!

He walked slowly past a moss covered tree and looked at his hands. He was only 13 years old, so the skin still looked smooth and soft. Oh. He had forgotten. It wasn't real skin.

He continued to walk across the soft, moist ground, taking in the silence of the forest. The real silence. No birds. No crickets.

"I see something's on your mind," said a soft, dark voice, and a dark shadow appeared from behind a tree, along with a pair of amber eyes.

Robinflight snapped up as Selena moved beside him. She continued walking through the woods, and he followed her.

"Like what?" he asked. It was not a challenge.

"Killing Time," she said simply, and blinked.

He stiffened. He had not wanted her to bring it up. He did not want to think about it.

"That _was_ on your mind, wasn't it?" she asked as they walked slowly through the trees.

"Um…no," he said, but knew he was lying. Really, that had been what Robinflight was thinking about.

Selena rustled her wings, and he looked over at her.

"I'm going to find where you got those," he said and started to run.

XXX

With Selena at his side, he reached a small house in no time. The house had a little droopy wooden fence going around it, with an unkempt lawn. The house sagged to the left, holes in the lower part of the roof. The walls were made of balloted wood, cracked and crumbling. The building was tiny, barely the size of a little kitchen.

"Is this the place?" Selena asked.

"Yes," Robinflight said, "because that tree right there has blackberries growing on it."

The tree was very weird. The blackberries were the size of melons, hanging around the huge, umbrella-like leaves. Blackberries usually grew on a bush, that's why this looked so strange.

Robinflight shrugged and then stepped over the tumbling gate. He walked across the lawn, which had a few murky pools in it, then rapped on the door.

Selena stood beside him as he waited for an answer. For a long time there was none.

"Hello?" he called loudly.

There was silence…then an odd mumbling, muttering sound.

"Mrr…meh…lil youngs…mrrr meh heh heh they know, the youngs…"

then there was the sound of scaly fingers on the inside of the door, and with the sound of a farting cow, the door opened, showering them both in dust, making Robinflight have a strange expectation that the door had not been opened it years.

"Who ye?" Said a gnarled, ratty, snarly, wheezy, raspy, choky, hairy, thin voice.

The thing standing there could hardly be called a person. To thin, stick-like legs held up the body, which was just a large hump. The person was so short and hunch-backed that the chin was almost touching the floor. Thing, stick arms were clasped together and moving frantically.

The human looked up, and the face was revolting. Four pointed chins, and a long, pencil-like nose greeted them. The eyes were small and watery, sagging until you could see the red part under the bottom eyelid. They were white. There was a tiny bit of long, thin, white, wispy hair sprouting from the top of the lumpy, warty head, and spilling around the rotten face like an ugly, uneven fountain.

"Who ye?" she asked again.

"Hello," Selena said loudly, "I'm Selena and this is my friend Robinflight."

She stared up at them oddly.

"We would like to speak with you," Robinflight told the old hag.

She did not move.

"Come yin," she gargled, and turned around and tottered into the shack.

Robinflight stepped carefully over the threshold and looked around the one roomed house. There was a big basket full of blackberries on one side of the house, and on the other was a yoga mat with a blanket on it that resembled Swiss cheese. In the remaining space there were endless piles of blackberry seeds. There were little well worn paths between the heaps of the small black things.

The room was dark, but moonlight filtered through the gaps in the walls and roof, so Robinflight could at least see who he was talking to.

The old woman hobbled through the seeds and sat down on her yoga mat.

"Spreak," she wheezed. (AN: Wrong spelling is done on purpose cause that's how she says stuff.)

"We want to ask you some questions," he said. The old lady started to grab blackberries and smack them between her hands. Her fingernails were ragged, grey, and a foot long.

"Food?" She asked, offering them the melon-sized blackberries, giving them a one-toothed grin.

"Thanks," Robinflight said, only out of politeness did he take one, and decided not to eat it.

"Ye seek heelp?" she rasped.

"Yes," he said, "Do you know why a bunch of kids all have wings?"  
"I do, I do," she rambled, closing her eyes and rocking herself back and forth, "I give dem spell to Wolf Men. He geet winged. We kids geet dem doo."

"I give dee curse ale round. Kids trip. Dey get winged."

"Why did you want to give them wings? How did you do that?" Robinflight questioned eagerly.

"Teet was zeezy," She continued in her thin, dry voice, "Dah Wolf Men pick me beeg blackedberry. Zih blackedberry was veery good. Wolf Men gotted rewoord. He ad winged."

"I zot my makidal (AN: Magical) powers from my grandmammad. She was beweetched by een ol family cuurse. My modder nedder goz zee makidal powers. I deed. I zove winged. Chidren shud alwade dav winged."

"Thank you, now-," Robinflight was interrupted. Something dark swooped past a huge crack in the wall. Robinflight knew what it was.   
"Timers."

**I LOVED that chapter, so you gotta review!!**


	3. Chapter 3: Happy then Dead

_**Chapter 3, Happy then...Dead**_

"Selena," Robinflight said quickly, squeezing her shoulder to get her attention. She jerked up and looked around at him.

"Timers," he muttered.

"Timers?" The old hag warbled, "Dah youngs Wolf Men?"

"Yes," Robinflight said, "Now come on, we're getting out of here, right now.

"I'd not goings zenywhere," she gargled.

"Yes you are! Get up or you're going to be killed!"

"Nedder!" she shrieked. Her bulging eyes lingered on his face, and then her dirty, bony hand with its foot long fingernails dug into his shoulder. The grip was strong.

"Let me go!" he shouted.

"Nay…" she rambled, and she snatched his wing. The sharp nails pierced his mending wing bone (It had been snapped by Time) and he yelped in pain.

"Ye nay going nowhere wid dos winged. My winged! My gade you winged!"

"No you didn't! Their mine! Their special! Get your hands off me--," he struggled and slashed, but the woman only gripped harder.

"LET GO OF ME!" He thundered, smashing his fist down on her arm, which cracked. He darted away as she rose from the yoga mat with actually quite amazing swiftness and hobbled over to him. The door of the house banged open and Timers fell into the room. The stood up and looked around, then they swarmed around.

A Timer leapt foreword to Robinflight, pushing him hard to a huge pile of blackberry seeds. Robinflight sunk easily into the soft heap, disappearing under the dark bits. He choked and thrashed and regained surface. The Timer grabbed his head and wrenched him from the pile. Robinflight kicked him hard in the stomach. He twisted around and kicked down a few rotting boards, falling from the house as the Timer snatched at his feet.

He fell onto the soft grass and the air left his steel lungs with a whoosh. He scrambled to his feet, searching desperately for Selena, worried for her because she had recently had surgery, and he did not know how her metal ribs would hold out…Then she leaped at a wall and flew from the house with a showering of wood, splinters and dust.

"Ow…" she mumbled, massaging her arm, which was bruised. But as soon as she said that, Timers exploded from the shack, shattering the tiny building to nothing. A Timer dragged the crazy old lady out; she was rambling random words to the world, grinning stupidly.

The Timers dropped the woman and raised their guns. There was a bang and a shriek from Selena, who had dived into one of the tiny pools for cover. The bullet banged onto Robinflight's chest and bounced back and hit a Timer on the skull. The Timer's piggy eyes rolled as a tiny spurt of blood gushed down his face, and then he fell over, dead.

Selena burst from the pool and smacked a Timer on the face. A different Timer sprang to Robinflight, baying like a demented dog. He grabbed Robinflight's wings and twisted hard. Robinflight let out a quick series of yelps before biting the Timer's hand.

He grabbed the Timer's wings and bent them back. The Timer cried out and then kicked randomly, tripping himself. His neck fell on the point of his gun, and the end appeared on the other side. The Timer groaned and died.

Robinflight sprang to his feet and sprinted across the lawn to where Selena fought.

"Zome back ere…" Said a warbly voice, and Robinflight felt a bony hand close around his ankle. He adjusted his foot so he stepped on the woman's fingers. She made an unpleasant, snotty sound and released him.

"AH!" Shouted a Timer, and he shot his gun at Robinflight and the hag. His gun tip blasted up and the Timer toppled back into a tiny, gritty pool.

The bullet whistled through the air. Selena shouted, "ROBINFLIGHT!" and he ducked. There was a thick, splattering sound and the old woman said:

"Oog…Why did you do zat?" and looked at her chest. Where there was a little hole. Weird, pinkish blood oozed sluggishly out of it.

"HAHAHAHA!" She burst into laughter, one orange tooth glowing in the moonlight as she grinned. She stumbled to Robinflight and collapsed, babbling stupidly.

"Wolf Men come back. Wolf Men come back to see me..." her legs gave way and she began to fall. Both Robinflight and Selena grabbed one of her shoulders, and lowered the gibbering woman onto the ground, where the grin stayed on her face forever.

**Oh yeah! Action right away! I don't feel sad that the crazy hag died, just sorry for her because she was really just living a peaceful life that could have gone on a few more good years…and then she had to be killed by a stupid Timer. Please review!**

**MoonAquaAngelSea—I've been trying to use a variety in my word use for the last two chapters. How have I done??**


	4. Chapter 4: Shadowflight Gives In

_**Chapter 4, Shadowflight Gives In**_

"Come on. Run." Robinflight said. He grabbed Selena's arm and together they sprinted into the dark forest, leaving the Timer's behind them.

"To the pack," He said and they raced back to where the group of winged kids slept.

"Hey. Everyone." Robinflight said, shaking Cora, "We've got to get out of here. Timers are chasing us."

"What's happening? What did you see?" Willow asked, waking up and blinking.

"All kinds of stuff," Selena said.

"Everyone here?" Robinflight asked, looking over them all. "Ok. Yep. Good, let's get airborne." He started to run and lifted from the ground, Selena and the others behind him.

He looked behind to see The Timer's rising from the trees, their mangled grey bird wings big and heavy. They yelped and snarled as the swift-winged pack sprinted across the sky. They were instantly left far behind.

"See ya, suckers!" Selena screeched back at them, making them roar all the louder.

Robinflight gently rested his wing tip on her back as he coasted with the strong wind.

"Don't press it," he muttered. But he was smiling.

She just laughed and sped up.

The wind was treacherously hard, making the pack have to flap harder. The wind kept trying to whoosh them all to the right, and Robinflight had to clench his wing muscles to hold on. It was not a gliding wind.

"Gosh this sucks," Snarled Selena, as her wing leather flapped hard, making her bounce through the air. At that second, thunder boomed and a sharp spray of icy water hit them hard. The rain was incredibly intense, soaking them all in an instant. When his wing leather filled with air, it would also fill with water, and when he flapped the other way, the water would spray all over.

"This isn't good! We've got to land!" he shouted and the pack swooped after him as he dived to the ground. He hit hard but it didn't hurt, so he stood up and walked around, seeing where they were.

It was at the edge of a huge lake. It was a sloping, jagged cliff wall, caves and nooks and overhanging rocks covered the whole rock wall. It was a perfect place to be sheltered from the rain.

"Over here!" he called and struggled along the edge of the cliff. Salty spray was spraying up and hitting him, which was annoying.

He started to climb down the slop, peeking into holes and stuff. Finally, in about the middle of the cliff, he found a strange den, sheltered by an overhanging rock. The den was a deep dip in the wall, but no rain could reach it.

"Come on." He stumbled into the dark cave. It was damp and musty, but all right.

The pack all filed into the little room. They started a fire and gathered around it.

Robinflight stared into the crackling flames.

"I've got an idea," he said.

"What is it?" Cora asked.

"Well…I want to find this certain cat from the forest. I want to ask him some stuff. Like, well, he knew what I meant when I said 'city' none of the other cats did."

He glanced up at Shadowflight. Her green eyes were carefully searching his face.

"What was his name?" She asked.

"Um…Well it was…let's see…uh…Rockpool."

Shadowflight shot straight up and stared at him with glittering eyes.

"Oh," she said, "Right."

"He knew you!" Robinflight shouted, suddenly brimming with excitement, "He was literally drooling about you!"

"Well of course he was," Shadowflight snarled. Robinflight noticed the way her claws had unsheathed.

"Well you can't speak to him," she snapped, "Because he's a cat and you're a human. Case closed."

"Oh yeah…Hmm, I forgot…" Robinflight sunk down and thought hard.

"HEY! I'm a cat on Eris!" He said while the pack raised their eyebrows in confusion. Shadowflight didn't, of course.

"We could take him there," Robinflight went on.

"How would we _get _to the other world?" Shadowflight argued, "The bridge is long broken."

"B-but…But you took me there only a few months ago!"

Shadowflight glared at him. "Yes but well…I was given three times to go to Eris. Only three. I could only spend a day there each time. I've already used up two of my times. See, I really can't just walk through worlds, I was given these times. After I use up all three, I shall never be able to go there again. I don't want to waste my final one on a bastard like Rockpool." (AN: Um well…Rated T for a reason I guess…)

"Please!" he begged.

"Shut up!" She roared.

"Look…I really want to find a purpose," he began, "I don't want to spend the rest of my time running away from Timers, with nothing to do except hide, hide, hide. Maybe if there was something to do, like get information from Rockpool, maybe life would be better."

Shadowflight was silent. Then she snarled, "Oh all RIGHT!" waves of pure fury washed from her.

"Thank you Shadowflight," He said neatly.


	5. Chapter 5: Two Cats, One Battle

_**Chapter 5, Two Cats, One Battle**_

Robinflight whipped around a tree and dashed across the open ground. "Somewhere near here," he told his pack.

A sudden screech brought his attention to the forest floor. A black cat with amber eyes stood there, screeching.

"Saturnpaw!" he said happily. She yowled hysterically and raced away. He bounded after her.

The stupid cat led him right into the camp. Screams of fear followed his entrance. A few cats passed dead out.

"Let's just find Rockpool and zip out of here," Robinflight told Shadowflight. But her eyes were already on the dark grey tom, who Robinflight lunged on.

Wait…everything seemed to slow down for a second. Rockpool was dead. Right? RIGHT? How had he forgotten? Oh no…but there he was, living…

Aw well, take what your given!

Rockpool screamed and screeched and yowled and bayed, but Robinflight held him calmly to his chest and walked from the camp. A commanding yowl sounded from the leader and the cats surged after him, clawing at his legs, which didn't hurt.

"Get off, you mites!" Screamed Shadowflight, uncharacteristically mad. She swiped her wings out and the cats turned and fled.

Rockpool calmed down as they left the forest. Standing at the edge of the city, Robinflight turned to Shadowflight. "Well, make us go to the other world," he said. She looked uncertain, and then she lunged at his chest and her picture blurred. Then the light zapped into him and he was flung through time and space, feeling himself shrink at great speeds.

"Whoa!" He shouted as his elbows-well now, uh…cat legs scraped the pavement.

Shadowflight swished her long tail and bounded across the hard, red ground.

"Gosh. Burleyville again!" she said, "Oh yeah! This rocks!" she disappeared into the mass of blue buildings.

"_SHADOWFLIGHT_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screeched Rockpool, who raced after her at rather amazing speeds.

"Get back here!" Robinflight bellowed, and he sped up quickly, leaped on Rockpool and smashed him into the asphalt.

"That's better," he hissed as Rockpool yowled. Then he fell silent and still, but large, shaky breaths racked his body and his unblinking blue eyes roved the buildings.

Shadowflight appeared with the cheetah, and Rockpool literally broke his bones to get free.

Robinflight whacked him on the shoulder. "Behave!" He barked. Rockpool thrashed for longer, but finally he grew stiller.

"That's better," Robinflight growled.

Rockpool looked straight at the cheetah, pulled back him teeth and let out a deathly snarl. His eyes blazed with fury.

"What's the matter with him?" The cheetah asked Shadowflight in a heavy British accent. (AN: YAY BRITIAN!)

"You piece of vermin." Shadowflight hissed quietly, looking down into Rockpool's wide, pleading eyes, "You rat." She kicked him hard in the face.

Robinflight scrambled off the whimpering Rockpool to let the two finish the fight. Rockpool flattened himself to the ground on his belly and slid up to Shadowflight, his ears back and his eyes wide. He licked her chin and whined.

"What are you begging for?" Shadowflight growled.

A tiny tear dripped from Rockpool's eye. "Y-Your love." He whispered and shook with sobs, looking at the dark red cement.

"We need to talk," Robinflight said gently. He scanned the sky. Ah. Darkness. The sun had sunk. Two moons hung in the sky. Would there be another? Robinflight did not know. He could almost tell though, it was like he knew if there would be another moon, but he wasn't sure…how could he remember? When had he been here at night?

Rockpool slunk foreword so Robinflight, his pack, Robin, Shadowflight and Rockpool all formed a circle.

"Shadowflight-Rockpool, speak," Robinflight ordered.

"I can't believe you," Shadowflight burst out, glaring daggers at Rockpool, "You still think of me! You still think we will be mates! I think I am going to write on your forehead with my claws: I am an idiot, and Shadowflight will never be my mate because she hates me."

Only one word seemed to have registered with Rockpool. "You…hate me?" he whispered.

"Yes," Shadowflight said sharply, "I hate you."

"Why?"

"Because you begged for my love when we were apprentices in awful ThunderClan, and I freaking GAVE IT TO YOU! And then…you found Aspenleaf. You wrecked it for yourself, buster. I wasn't even very attached to you, and I just thought, 'aw well, he's found someone else,' and forgot about it. GET OVER IT. Then you tried to kill Robin. There was NO WAY I could love you after that. _NO WAY_! And still you loved me. Still you thought I would come back for you."

Rockpool dropped his head and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Why couldn't you have just stuck with Aspenleaf?" Shadowflight asked in a softer voice.

"Because I loved you. I loved _you_."

Robinflight's heart actually squeezed with pity. Poor, poor Rockpool. He was having his dreams wrecked. The poor wretched tom. Maybe it would be better for him if he just…died.

"I love Robin now," Shadowflight whispered, "He is my mate."

Rockpool looked up and cried out. "Please, Shadowflight! Please! Just be my mate for one day!"

"NEVER!" she screeched, leaping to her feet. She leaped at him, but he pushed her away with one paw and held her there, looking into her eyes.

"You promised. You promised." He said and then remembered what had happened all that time ago…

_FLASHBACK_

**Next chapter has mostly the flashback in it. The chapter before this one was really hard, because I had to write everything really carefully to make it fit the plot in the following chapters. REVIEW AT THIS SECOND WITH A GOOD COMMENT PLEASE!!**


	6. Chapter 6: Flashbacks

_**Chapter 6, Flashback**_

(AN: Remember, this is a flashback)

_Rockkit was warm in the nursery beside his mother, Squirreltalon. The milky scents of Whiteflower's kits drifted past his nose._

_Rockkit peeked around Whiteflower's sleeping body at the tiny kits. They were all so tiny. Reaperkit, Huntingkit, and Shalekit. And then, the really tiny one, Shadowkit. They all slept beside their mother. Except Shadowkit._

_Rockkit glanced around the nursery. It was very early morning, so it was dark. Almost everyone was asleep! This was his chance to talk to Shadowkit privately!_

_"Hey, Shadowkit!" he hissed. She looked up._

_"Come over and talk to me!" he went on. She stood up and picked her way through the slumbering cats and then sat down in front of him. "What?"_

_"Let's go have some fun!" he offered. She wrinkled her brow. "What kind of fun?" she asked._

_"You know those badgers living by Sunningrocks? Let's go kill them! We would be made apprentices really early! It would be great! We would be warriors and Shalekit and Leafkit and the others would still be kits!"_

_"Um…alright." She mewed and Rockkit led Shadowkit out into the camp. They both leaped behind the nursery and trekked to Sunningrocks._

_"What would you want your warrior name to be?" Rockkit asked his friend as they walked on the well trodden path._

_"I dunno," Shadowkit said, "Shadowflame maybe, or Shadowfang."_

_ Rockkit looked skyward. "Someday, I want to fly to the stars. So I want my name to be Rockflight."_

_"Somehow, I can't imagine you flying," Shadowkit joked, looking at his plump belly and strong legs. "Just too heavy."_

_He laughed. "Shut up." Then he looked at her and said, "Do you think that maybe… 'flight' would be better for you? You could fly, I'll bet. You could go to the moon and stars."_

_"Maybe," She said softly, "Shadowflight. I like it."_

_"I do too," he murmured. They walked in silence, then he spoke again. "Would you take me with you? To the stars?"_

_She looked sideways at him. After a moment she said, "Of course."_

_Rockkit smiled and imagined him and Shadowkit flying together, the wind ruffling their touching fur._

_Rockkit smiled and he and Shadowkit walked on._

_"Sunningrocks!" He cried happily. There were badgers prowling all around._

_"Oh yeah!" He yowled, "Let's go fight 'em, Shadowkit!"_

_The two kits lunged foreword as the badgers leapt, snarling, toward them. Rockkit bravely scratched one's nose. Shadowkit banged unsheathed paws into a different badger's face._

_The badgers snarled and slashed claws. Rockkit barely dodged. He leaped at one and clung to its flank, his claws deep inside the flesh. The badger roared, leaping to get the kit off. Rockkit yowled and bit the badger so hard that he actually got blood._

_Enraged that its dinner was attacking him, the badger screeched and snapped white teeth at the kit. Rockkit, suddenly afraid, let go. He glanced at Shadowkit. The badger lashed up at her, and the black claws raked the tiny kit's chest and front legs. The badger that Rockkit had been fighting bounded foreword, and bit his rump. Hard. _

_Terrified, the kit ran into the forest, squeals echoing from his mouth. His paws moved so fast he felt like he was flying._

_"Shadowkit! Shadowkit!" he squeaked desperately when he stopped and found he wasn't being chased by the badger. He found the she-kit a few trees away. And he bounded to her._

_"That was really scary," he whispered, "I thought those badgers were going to kill us."_

_"Yeah." Shadowkit answered, nervously licking her scratches.  
Rockkit looked at the kit he liked. Really liked. Could he…love her? Was it possible? Yes! He did love her. All he wanted was to live with her forever._

_"Shadowkit?" he began softly, "Will you promise be my mate when we grow up?"_

_She paused, staring at the ground. Then,_

_"Of course, you stupid furball."_

_END FLASHBACK_

…And then when they had become apprentices it had all changed. Shadowflight had suddenly become a quiet, cold, cruel apprentice with a thing for disliking kind, loving toms. She seemed to completely forgotten all about even knowing Rockpool. He just didn't exist in her mind anymore. Rockpool had been distraught, remembering the way they had promised to be mates when they were older. But she had forgotten about him, a mere tom.

He never understood why she had been like that. And from them on, nothing had ever been the same as the quiet, fun filled kit adventures they had had together.

**Poor Rockpool. Now you understand why he really didn't want Shadowflight to go. She broke a promise! And Rockpool loved she-cats so much, that breaking a promise like that would break the poor cat's heart! (Bonks Shadowflight) Bad Shadowflight! Review!! NOW!**


	7. Chapter 7: Falling Rubble, Dying Life

_**Chapter 7, Falling Rubble, Dying Life**_

"That was why you wanted me so bad?" Shadowflight snarled, leaping to her feet, "THAT was why?" she roared, "Because of some stupid kit game? YOUR MIND IS BEHIND YOUR FREAKING YEARS, ROCKPOOL!"

"I-I-I," he stammered, but she was slashing her claws at the air, and the next thing Robinflight knew, Rockpool and Shadowflight stood on their hind legs, their front legs gripping each other while their claws tore out fur and their teeth shone.

"I am SO tired of you, Rockpool!" Screamed Shadowflight, slicing her tail through his hind legs so he stumbled. She whirled and leaped on him, planting her paws on his flank. He thrashed and his claws tore blood on her face, so Robinflight leaped at the raging tom and held him down.

"We're not done talking to you," he growled. "Now tell me why you know what the word city means."

Rockpool growled and thrashed, and only when Robinflight cuffed him on the head did he finally settle down. "Because I wanted Shadowflight! I thought she might have come back to earth! It was just a dumb thought…but then…there was a she-cat waiting for me in the city. Just a random grey and white tabby. I don't even know her name. I bet she's had my kittens born already. They're probably as good as me."

He smiled and then thrashed some more.

"You stupid cat," Rockpool mumbled at Robinflight, saliva dribbling down his cheek. He paused and the watery blue eyes fixed on Robinflight's own dark, deep ones.

"You awful cat," Shadowflight said loudly, coldly. "You poor cat with a ruined life."

He struggled thinly.

"Don't do that! You're bugging my son!" Shadowflight yowled. Robinflight stared, shocked. His body went numb and cold and he paled.

Shadowflight suddenly looked horrified. Quickly she invented: "Yes and your kind of an ugly brute, Rockpool, I mean the ginger fur you got looks awful and those terrible pink eyes, I don't even know why you considered being my mate when you, you know, look like such a building…" Her words were scrambled and made no sense; you could tell she was wildly trying to change the subject.

"You're my MOM?" Robinflight asked her.

"What did you just say to me?" She asked shakily, "What an insult!"

"You haven't told him?" Robin, the cheetah, sounded surprised as he moved to Shadowflight's side. "Well, then I think _I_ will. Robinflight, as Shadowflight has failed to explain, I am your…um…dad. And Shadowflight's your…mom…right…" He suddenly felt himself swirl into darkness and then he remembered:

_ANOTHER FLASHBACK_

_As soon as he heard the crack that he knew had taken Shadowflight back to earth, Robin turned around and bounded back to his son, Robinflight, who lay asleep in the cave._

_"Aw…" he mumbled. He sniffed the tiny kit, bringing in the smell of Shadowflight one last time. Then he picked up the kit. He would make sure this kit would survive. He had to._

_Wait. What was that? There was a round hole just in the air, and beyond it was golden light. Where Shadowflight had gone! There was a mark left by her! Robin knew who it was for. He raised Robinflight high, and pushed his son through the hole, where he and the hole disappeared._

_END FLASHBACK_  
Robin sighed as he remembered, while Shadowflight glared at her mate.

"But-but-but-," Robinflight stuttered, looking at his mom and dad.

Then, abruptly, Rockpool surged from underneath his paws and scrambled to his feet. He sprinted to Shadowflight, and his claws raked her chest. She instantly backed away and then leapt, snarling at her opponent. Rockpool screeched and dashed deep into the town. He leapt at a building, and it crumbled down. Rockpool looked shocked.

"Come and fight, you revolting bastard!" Shadowflight roared at the grey cat perched on top of the rubble, "Find your finish, don't avoid it!"

Rockpool paced the blue hunks of rock and shouted back down at her.

"Want a piece, you treacherous bitch?" He bellowed, and then he banged a big piece of sharp, jagged rock from the pile and it started to roll quickly down to Shadowflight, bringing the whole heap with it. Shadowflight's eyes widened and she screamed and made a wild dash to escape. Her rump and hind legs were drowned. She roared and pulled herself from it and raced away at breakneck speed.

Robin started to dash up the pile toward Rockpool, and his amber eyes glowed with fury.

"Give her a break, vermin!" he screeched. Rockpool rolled his eyes and made a rude expression, then looked around carefully. A huge boulder stood where Robinflight was. He smirked.

CRACK!

With a deadly breaking noise, Rockpool hurled his foot against the boulder, which lifted into the air, glinting and glowing in the moonlight. A thick trail of smaller rocks and dust followed it, and it hit the pile and began to roll then-

CRUNCH.

Rockpool laughed maniacally and Robinflight felt lead drop into his stomach and his eyes widened.

"Oh. My. God." The words had barely left him when Shadowflight let out a shrill, really shrill scream and pounded over to the dangerous pile of rubble, and began to shift the boulders and rocks with incredible, extremely incredible speed and strength. Each stone she lifted she hurled over her shoulder. Finally she lifted one final, gigantic boulder, tossed it away and looked down.

Robinflight felt dizzy. His eyes had not deceived him. Not at all. Suddenly terrified, he sprinted foreword, his unblinking eyes fixed on the sobbing Shadowflight. His paws moved like lightening as he raced up the rubble and stopped when he had reached him mother.

Not just his mother.

His parents.

Shadowflight shook and shook with sobs, her front paws tearing apart the ground. She was hunched over. She understood, more then Robinflight did. She understood a lot more then he did that Robin was dead.

"Robin…" Robinflight murmured. The cheetah lay scrunched together, but he loosened himself as he heard his name called, and he looked around. He saw Robinflight, and the look he gave him was full of love. It was a look Shadowflight sobbed harder on, but it was a look Robinflight couldn't understand.


	8. Chapter 8: Four Graves, Four Deaths

_**Chapter 8, Four Graves, Four Deaths**_

Shadowflight cried for a long time. Robinflight could not move. Rockpool perched atop the rubble from the broken building, smiling benignly.

"Get over it, Shadowflight!" he shouted down to her, "You know you would someday have to be mine, and mine only."  
"SHUT UP!" she screeched.

He growled and lashed his tail. "Yeah, that was for ditching me for Demon!"

"What?!" Shadowflight shrieked, raising her tear stained, red face to look him in the eyes. "WHAT?! This was because of DEMON?"  
Who Demon was Robinflight did not know, but Shadowflight seemed enraged by him. "He was a bastard just like you! SO I FREAKING KILLED HIM AND LET HIM ROT, ROCKPOOL!"  
Rockpool's eyebrows met in confusion, and he looked bewildered.

"You KILLED Demon? The stupid porcupine you were madly in love with?"

"WOULD I BE MADLY IN LOVE WITH HIM IF HE KILLED RAVEN, BOSSED GERALDINE INTO FOLLOWING HIS ORDERS, AND LURED ME AND ROBIN NORTH TO SAVE POOR HELPLESS CREATERES FROM HIS NASTINESS??!!"  
Rockpool looked even more confused. "You spent every day of your life with him back in ThunderClan!"

Shadowflight grew angrier, "AND THAT WAS WHEN HE WAS A KIND, QUIET FRIEND! THEN HE COMES HERE AND FORCES ME TO DRINK THE BREATH OF LIFE!!"

Suddenly the black she-cat stood up, "DO YOU WANT TO SEE HIM, ROCKPOOL? DO YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR LONGHATED ENEMY?"  
He paused, smirking nastily, "Yes."

"FINE!" she screamed, and deg her claws into Robinflight's front leg. A second of wind, then…

Robinflight opened his eyes. He was lying on an icy cold slab of rock at the side of a thin, fast moving stream. Huge canyon walls stretched up on either side of him. Wait…He recognized this place. He had been here before.

Shadowflight stood up and started to race down the side of the river, until she came to a wide rock bank with a small gnarled bush on one end.

"Here," she whispered, mostly to Robinflight, because Rockpool was walking really slowly up.

There were three graves on the rock slab, each a small pile of jagged stones. They were all marked with a craggy wooden cross.

Shadowflight seemed weak when she looked at them. On one of the crosses, written in blue, said "Here lies Raven, a true friend." And another, written in deep orange, said "Here lies Geraldine, betrayer, betrayed." And finally, written in dark red ink said, "Here lies Demon, who died as he lived."

"Who are these animals?" Robinflight asked, gently pawing Raven's grave.

"Two were my friends," Shadowflight rasped, swishing her tail and Geraldine's and Raven's graves, "And Demon was my enemy."

Then she put down Robin, who she was holding, and struck the rock until she had made a big hole. She curled the cheetah inside it, and then tumbled the rocks back over him. Then she wrote carefully on a cross, and when she stepped back, it read, in green ink:

Here lies Robin, a lifesaver.

It was sad to see the grave standing there beside the other three, and Robinflight realized with a jolt that all of these four animals Shadowflight had seen die. That was a lot.

Shadowflight stood up and walked away from the graves. Rockpool followed her, slowly and unsteadily. Silence had fallen, and Robinflight stepped back, listening to the song of the river.

**Short chapter, but sad. Review!**


	9. Chapter 9: Our Happy Reunion

_**Chapter 9, Our Happy Reunion**_

"It's time to go back now," Robinflight mumbled to Shadowflight. She nodded and then touched him gently, and the nest thing he knew, he, Shadowflight, his pack and Rockpool had all landed back on earth.

Shadowflight, a human, looked down at Rockpool. His ears swiveled back and he yowled in fear of being surrounded by Twolegs.

"Ha!" Shadowflight laughed, kicking him in the ribs, "Ha, ha, ha!" Rockpool ran, screeching, for ThunderClan.

Then Shadowflight dropped to a crouch and looked down.

"Let's fly out of here," Robinflight said. They had appeared to be somewhere in the middle of the city. They should probably fly and try to find somewhere familiar, he thought.

Shadowflight looked briefly at him, and then lifted into the air and flew away.

We shouldn't follow her, Robinflight decided, she needs time alone.

He turned back to his pack.

"How about north?" he asked. They all nodded numbly, flapped their wings, and were instantly airborne.

Robinflight sped through the air, the wind blowing his face, whipping his hair back. He dropped a little lower to scan the buildings.

Wait…something was coming toward them, from the ground. Big winged creatures…

"Look out below!" Robinflight called to his pack to warn them of the things, incase they were threats.

One of the many things was flying up a lot faster then the rest of the group. It was a black blur, while the rest of the throng was grey. What was this?  
Robinflight started to circle around, going lower inch by inch. The black thing was now coming closer…it was getting a lot more visible…it was obviously some winged creature.

The other grey things were flying a lot more raggedly and slowly then the black thing. What was happening?

Then the black thing was distinguishable. A human being, with either bat or dragon wings and long black hair. Perhaps Shadowflight?  
As the human grew closer, it became clear it was _not_ Shadowflight. It was too young, too small, and the eyes were not green.

Robinflight squinted at the grey group. Oh no…it was clear what they were. Timers. Again. Their dirty, bedraggled wings could barely let them fly. Gosh. Why didn't they just get replacements?

The black thing raced closer and stopped in front of Robinflight, hovering a few feet away from him, standing in the air.

It had smirkish grin on its pale face. Its red eyes were lit up. The black hair flowed down its back.

_Oh my god TIME!_

Robinflight's face was blank. His brain was astonished. Ok. What the heck? He had to stop hallucinating.

"Hi Robinflight," She said cutely.

That was Time's voice.

"You…but…what…I…wait…what…I….Didn't I kill you?"

She looked angry, "Way to wreck our happy reunion," she said in an annoyed voice.

"This isn't a reunion," he retorted.

"It was to me," she snapped.

"Yeah right. You're dead."

"Well excuuuuuuse me!" she snarled. Robinflight saw her unconsciously drum her fingers in the center of her chest, and wince in pain.

"Why are you alive?" he growled.

"Because of this-," she said, and socked him hard in the jaw. Instantly his shields went up, and he struck her back by smacking her cheek. She lunged at him and he sped up and raced away.

Selena dove past him. "Over here!" she called, swerving off toward the deeper part of the city, "Follow me!"

Robinflight whipped around and raced behind her, the pack strewn out behind him. He looked down to see a group of Timers standing on a building with their rifles pointed up at the group.

One Timer jerked his gun. A bang echoed through the air and the Timer's gun blasted up, making him fall over.

There was a tiny whiz at the bullet sped up to the pack, and then a sharp THWAP!

Robinflight felt his wing freeze up as pain signals slowly made their way to his brain.

Then the air was whistling past him as he thundered to the ground.

**Oh no! Review now!**


	10. Chapter 10: A Turn for the Worse

_**Chapter 10, A Turn for the Worst**_

Unbearable pain. His legs and arms zapped to his chest to protect it, robot bodies could not help him here. His blue eyes were squeezed shut. He did not want to touch the ground. But it would come.

Screaming like a demented cat, he dropped to the ground, numb to his surroundings. He knew when he neared the ground, his back straightened, tingling, knowing it was about to be smashed.

It was like a dull thunk to Robinflight. That was all. Death sounds rang through his head.

And then it happened. He could not even yelp as his back was pulled back into what felt like a bow and snapped. He cried out finally when his wing crumbled underneath him and he thrashed until the leathery wing was zapped from underneath him.

He whimpered feebly, not passing out, still alive, still not dead, even though he longed for it. He scrambled into a crouch, his eyes squeezed shut and he hopped across the ground, one wing held up on his back, the other dragging across the ground, bleeding freely.

He was squealing and whimpering as he finally stumbled and landed on his face. His shaking hand came unsteadily from underneath him, and the fingers found his injured wing. They traveled across the smoky black surface until they found it.

A small, bullet sized hole.

He started to cry as he realized what had happened. He was crippled beyond repair. His flying was over. The perfect balance his wings and body had used to fly was shattered. It was over. He had been popped like a balloon.

His whimpers did not die down as he fainted.

XXX

Robinflight woke ages later, where the sun hovered in the middle of the sky, indicating noon.

He was not in the city. He lay on a little, stony grassy ridge over looking a fast, small stream, with a fallen log crossing over it. The ridge was surrounded by deciduous trees, most of them bearing only a few orange leaves.

He moved slightly and cried out and twisted around to place his hand over his wing. The limp thing was pulsing with pain, the sides of the bullet hole had started to heal, no longer bleeding, but the leather had been stretched to tightly when his wing was still perfect for the hole to mend together.

Feeling like the injured dog in a pack, an injured dog that could no longer go on, Robinflight tucked his good wing up to his back and hopped foreword like a bird who had broken their wing.

Finally, too exhausted to go on, he collapsed onto his stomach and slept.

XXX  
He tossed and turned during the night, driven almost to insanity from the pain of his wing, which was not healing. His mind barely touched on worry for his pack. All he wanted was to get his wing back in flying conditions. In his heart, he knew that was impossible.

Robinflight thrashed on the ridge. His own sweat was drenching him, and he had to get some cool air against his skin before he threw up…

His weak legs could barely lift him, and he resolved it was because he had snapped some kind of strength circuit. He stumbled foreword, the broken wing dragging along the ground. He reached the cool darkness of the trees, and then bent down and thrust his face into the icy stream. He wrenched it out when the cold became too much. Then he looked up.

There was a rumble. A growl type rumble. Robinflight shot up, looking alertly around. The growl sounded again, this time louder and closer.

And then he saw the bear.

It was lumbering for him from across the stream. He screamed as the beast easily waded through the water, and Robinflight understood that what he had done was wrong, he had used the bear's stream, and the bear did not like it…

His hands flashed up to cover his head, because a bear's paws could break even a robotic neck. He fled for the ridge, but the bear just leaped after him, and he knew what he had to do, or he would have to drown in the river or be killed by the bear…

He threw himself onto the ground, his legs crumpled beneath his body, his back up and facing the bear. He whipped his hands out and covered the back of his neck.

The bear was not satisfied by his play-dead disguise. Claws dug underneath Robinflight's body, and he did not move as he was rolled closer and closer to the stream. The bear was grunting and growling. Then it looked at him.

_Please think I'm dead_, Robinflight prayed, _please, please, please._

The bear was silent, giving only the tiniest grunt. Then it flipped him onto his belly, and large, three inch long claws were sinking into his shoulders and coming out again. Snapping small circuits and spraying sparks into the air. Its teeth plunged into the back of Robinflight's neck, but he did not move, even though he knew soon he would wail, and betray that he was alive, and then the bear would finish him off.

Another scratch on the shoulder blades finished the attack. The bear stood up on its hind legs and roared, looked down at him, then lumbered off.

Robinflight stayed there like that for several hours, and then, finally, he pulled himself foreword and began the painful crawl to the ridge.


	11. Chapter 11: Starbringer

**Cloudfire- Hi, what's up? I'm glad you're reading. Actually, uh…the series does not begin with Map of the Worlds at all. It starts with Look to the Stars. Click on my profile, and then it will say Starlit Sky 1: Look to the Stars, then Starlit Sky 2: Outcast and so on. Just keep following the numbers in order. Thanks for the review!**

_**Chapter 11, Starbringer**_

Once again Robinflight slept badly, barely able to even get snatches of sleep. The area around the bullet hole was now getting blue and purple, and swelling up with infection. His shoulder blades and back of neck were of course not going to heal because he was a robot, but the holes sent pain signals through his whole body, so it doubled the wing pain. Illness had seized him. (AN: I decided the robots can get sick, because I need them to be vulnerable to a few things)

The illness was bad, he felt weak, and he spent all his time coughing. Cold racked his body, followed by unbearable heat. He was dizzy too, and could barely stand up. He was in dire need of water, but he feared the bear would come back.

Finally, tiny stars bloomed before his eyes. With a hacking cough, he dragged himself down to the water, and pressed his face to the glassy surface, and sucked up what felt like the whole stream. Then, breathing raggedly and dragging his wing, he pulled himself back up the ridge and collapsed, coughing despairingly, into sleep.

XXX

Something cold and soft touched Robinflight's forehead. His eyes sprang open and he leaped to a sitting position, spraining his helpless wing. He yelped and yanked it from beneath him.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," said a soft, kind, feminine voice.

"Who's there?" he growled into the darkness, then his eyes zoomed carefully around until they found the shape kneeling beside him.

"Get away!" he yelped, and leaped away from her.

She stood up; his eyes carefully scanned her, and he gasped. This person was a girl, most likely the same age as him. She had long black hair in two braids on either side of her head, and her large black eyes were outlined by thick eyebrows. Her skin was soft brown, smooth. She was wearing a dress/robe thing made of leather, with fringe on the edges, and her feet were planted in moccasins.

_An Indian?_

His cold eyes remained on her face, and she stared at him doubtfully.

"Go away. I don't like you," he said. He stood up and walked back, his boots making imprints in the soft dirt.

"I'm trying to help you. You're injured," she said, her face pulled with worry.

"Shut up," he snarled, "I don't want to be touched by human hands."

"You need help," she murmured.

He swept his good wing up unconsciously so it was open beside him.

"You are like the ones in the tell of the Old People," the Indian girl said, "Wings of peregrine falcon. But your wings are different."

"I _am_ different!" he shouted, backing toward the water. She followed him.

"You need medicine or you will die. You are sick." She said, "And we could give you herb and root. Please come with me to my tribe."

He stood there for a long time. "Alright, FINE!" he shouted and stalked after her.

She led him through the forest, and then onto a long rolling plain with a river running through the center of it.

"My name is One Who Brings Many Stars, or Starbringer. What is your name?"  
He realized with a jolt how similar her name was to his. "Uh…Robinflight."

"Just Robinflight? Not, Robin That Brings Flight?"

"No," he snarled, "Just Robinflight."

"There are our teepees in the distance," Starbringer said, pointing with a soft hand to a many pointed leather things they were nearing.

A few minutes later they had reached the teepees, which were by the riverbank. One pine tree grew in the little area.

"There is my father, River That Has Song, or Riversong. He is the tribe leader."

An old man, face sunken with wrinkles, moved into one of the teepees.

"I will take you to him," Starbringer said and Robinflight followed her into the teepee where Riversong had gone.

"Father," Starbringer said softly, "I have found someone. He is injured. His name is Robin That Brings Flight, or Robinflight."

Robinflight growled. Hadn't he said his name was NOT Robin That Brings Flight?!

The old man's black gave scrutinized him for a long time.

"He is the savior one," he whispered, leaning back against the leathery wall.

"Put him on the bed," Riversong said, and Starbringer guided him to a small mattress stuffed with eagle's feathers.

"Hopefeather will bring him medicine," said Riversong.

Robinflight sat on the bed and looked out. Starbringer then gently stroked his forehead. He slapped her hand. "Don't touch me."

"Oh my dear, Robinflight," she whispered, sitting down beside him and wrapping her arms around his chest, "We shall care for you."

"CUT THAT OUT!" he roared, jumping away from her.

"Oh, please, Robinflight," she whispered, "You are with us now." Her hand stroked his hair.

He raised his good wing and brought the talon through her flesh. She called out in pain.

"I said don't touch me," he said coldly, emotionlessly.

Hopefeather turned out to be an old woman with herbs and juices. She placed them on his wing, but he shook them off. "I don't need care," he growled.

"Please," she whispered. He punched her.

Later, they all left, leaving Robinflight alone to brood. Anger pulsed from him. He did not want these weird people anywhere near him.

Finally he lay down and looked into the darkness of the teepee. Then a soft voice drifted from right near him.

"I'm here, Robinflight."

_Starbringer!_

**Poor Robinflight. Review!**


	12. Chapter 12: Like Another Mouth

_**Chapter 12, Like Another Mouth**_

"Get out of my life," Robinflight snarled as Starbringer came into view, smiling happily, "I have no use for you."

She gave a sad noise, and then sat down on the mattress.

"Look," he began impatiently, but she never let him finish. She inched closer to him. And closer.

And closer.

"CUT IT OUT!" he bellowed and she ignored him. She flopped down on his chest, her hands stroking his face.

A strong robot hand latched onto her shoulder. A strong robot arm slowly lifted her up and into the air. He threw her from the teepee.

"Stay out or I'll kill you," he said slowly, and then stepped back inside the teepee and lay down again.

XXX

The next morning he was awoken by some young Indian children running up to him and pulling his nose and poking him.

"Wake up! Wake up, Robin That Brings Flight! Riversong has called a meeting!"

Snarling, he hoisted himself up and walked after the children.

Riversong stood at the head of a circle, dressed in many animal skins. Starbringer stood beside him, with another, older, woman on his other side.

"We have found the chosen one," Said Riversong, and the circle chanted: "Chosen one, chosen one."

"Come up here, Robin That Brings Flight," He said, and the children pushed Robinflight until he stood before the tribe leader.

"For a long time there were hard battles over wind, rock and song," Riversong said, "Now we have the chosen one. He will help us from the flooding water."

"Yeah right," Robinflight mumbled. Nobody heard him.

"So he needs a True Name." Riversong placed his hands on Robinflight's shoulders.

"Robin That Brings Flight, you are now One Who Comes With Hope, or Cominghope."

"Cominghope, Cominghope," echoed the circle.

"He will aid the growth of our tribe, too," Riversong went on, "He will be a mate of Starbringer. Starbringer will soon bear her first child, and Cominghope's first child." Riversong turned to the old lady on the other side of him, "Curingwound, you shall aid the partnership of Cominghope and Starbringer, and make sure there is a healthy birth."

Starbringer's eyes widened with pure joy. She ran to hug Robinflight, who kicked her.

"Don't I get a say on this?" He shouted, "I don't want this little twerp to be my mate, and I don't want to be a father! I don't even want to be here!"

But the group was already chanting, "A birth shall come, a birth shall come," and pushing him off into the 'birthing teepee.'

He sat down on the floor and hugged his knees, his face twisted with rage.

Starbringer ran into the teepee and sat down beside him. She draped her arms around his neck and knocked him onto his back. He rolled him over until he fastened his hands around her neck and lifted her into the air and threw across the teepee.

"We're supposed to mate now," She said, her mouth quivering, "Otherwise we'll break the tradition."

"Like a care about a tradition," he snarled, and climbed onto a bed.

The following days were awful. It was all Robinflight could do to keep Starbringer off him, and sometimes he almost couldn't do it.

One time he opened his eyes and saw Starbringer's face two inches from his own.

"Hi, Cominghope," she said sweetly. She was in bed with him! He pushed her off. "Stay away from me, or I'll kill you," he said for the second time.

She looked scared for a second, then crawled across the teepee floor and fell asleep on a rug.

Robinflight sat up. He suddenly knew what to do. There was no point being here, struggling to keep Starbringer off him.

He left the bed, and slipped under one of the flaps of the teepee leather. He had only walked two feet across the moors when Starbringer popped up in front of him and wound her body around his.

He pulled her off, but this time did not hurl her away. He held her in front of her, and placed his left hand on her neck, right below the chin, and his right hand on the back of her lower neck. He looked down into her face, barely two inches away from his. She looked a little scared.

"I told you to stay away or I'd kill you," he whispered into her wide, tan face, "You don't want to be killed, do you?" his words were now hardly a breath.

"N-no," she whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

"Good," he said coldly, and pushed down with his left hand, and up with his right, until, with a loud cracking sound, her neck split open. Her eyes didn't even widen.

He dropped her to the ground; where her neck stayed wide open, like another mouth.

**Mwahaha…Good boy, Robinflight! Review!**


	13. Chapter 13: Steve and Sylvester

_**Chapter 13, Steve and Sylvester**_

Robinflight strolled along the grassy plain. The teepees were tiny, tiny dots on the horizon. He kept laughing at the thought of the Indians waking up, finding him gone, and Starbringer with her neck split open.

He really wished he could fly, and save twice the energy, and get away from the forest four times as fast. He knew he could not fly with a hole in his wing. Wait! He hadn't even tried. Could it be that he could…?

He ran foreword, deciding to take a running takeoff instead of the usual just lift into the air.

Robinflight's feet pounded on the damp ground. He lifted his wings and flapped as hard as he could.

The right side of his body was lifted into the air, as the strong wing pulled him up. It was flapping steadily, almost waiting for its companion to catch up. The poor hurt wing was flapping vainly. A few strong flaps of the lame thing would make Robinflight feel an upward pull, but he never left the ground with his left foot. The wing would beat hard, then collapse to his side, weak.

He could even hear the sound of the air rushing through the hole. It was sickening.

Finally he let the wings flop to the ground, and if the lame wing could have sighed, it would have.

He folded up the wings and charged through the grass.

Robinflight walked all day. Evening fell, bringing sundown. He did not fell tired, but he wished he could find something, some trace of his pack.

A few shafts of pink light spread across the sky, but Robinflight, heading in the direction of the sunrise, was already seeing darkness.

Something made him jump. A strange whisper in the grass, or was it the sound of the night beetles moving through the air?

He looked around cautiously. There was nothing in sight.

The whisper sounded again, and it was definitely not made by nature.

"Who there?" he called out.

"_Hello, Robinflight_," Said a cold, but seemingly pleased voice.

"Who am I speaking with?" Robinflight shouted.

_"You didn't recognize my voice? It's Jack."_

Robinflight fell silent.

_"I have your location, all I need to do is organize a group of Timers,"_ he laughed coldly.

His voice was just sounding in Robinflight's head, and it sounded like he was hearing it over a telephone.

"How are you communicating to me?" Robinflight hissed.

"_Computers, my dear boy."_

"Why is Time alive?" he snarled.

There was silence, only shattered by what sounded like the squeaking of a chair as Jack sat up straight.

_"I am going to kill you when I get you,"_ Jack whispered dangerously, "_Because of what you did to my precious Time."_

"I killed her. She's back to life. It could be forgotten," he hissed.

_"You sound like you enjoy the thought of me walking into my special preserving room, and finding my best robot, lying on the floor, blood everywhere, and her eyes like red mirrors."_

"I do enjoy it," Robinflight retorted, smiling.

The silence meant Jack was very, very angry.

_"I had to make a new computer chip_," Jack said softly, coldly, darkly.

"Right, and that would be really hard," Robinflight said sarcastically.

"_Yes it was. Because she was the only one with a blue one, and I was out of blues. Blues are so hard to make_."

"Get over it," Robinflight growled.

_"No,"_ Jack said, and Robinflight knew he was smiling, _"I won't."_

And then with a strange, fuzzy noise, the man with green eyes and one dark eyebrow did not speak to Robinflight again, and he could not hear him.

Darkness had fallen, yet Robinflight still walked on.

Abruptly, he came to a solid grey brick wall. He looked at it. It stretched far on. Robinflight tapped it. Solid as rock.

He kicked it, lightly.

There was no response. Finally he pressed his palms to it and shattered it in a cloud of dust. He wanted to get through. What did he do? He got through!

Chuckling, Robinflight strolled into what was beyond the brick wall. It was a city. Not a city he recognized, but a city.

He walked along, and abruptly heard something very strange. People singing. Two people, maybe three. He whirled around as two boys skipped into view, arm in arm.

They appeared not to see Robinflight, but they were singing something very strange, it appeared to be the words for the little act they were doing: "Skip three, bow three, twirl around, dip your head-,"

Robinflight interrupted them, "Who are you?"

One of the boys had darker hair, but it was about to his shoulders, and dark eyes. The other had blond hair, down to his shoulder _blades _and hazel eyes.

"Oh. Hi," said the darker boy, "I'm Steve."

"I'm Sylvester," said the other boy, and together they said:

"We're not related."

**Hehe, they're funny, and they will be fairly important. Review!**


	14. Chapter 14: Tendrils

_**Chapter 14, Tendrils**_

"I…Nice to meet you," Robinflight said nicely as both the boys stared at him.

Steve and Sylvester stared at him a lot longer then skipped away arm in arm.

"Well," muttered Robinflight, "That was brief."

He walked on through the city. He was unaware of something circling, hawk-like, above him until it swooped straight down and landed in front of him, folding ginger sparrow wings.

"Cora!" Robinflight gasped, "Why are you here?"

"I don't know," she said, and motioned with her hand for them to walk. The eleven year old Asian girl began to speak.

"Some really bad stuff happened," she said, "But I am really glad I found you. You were shot out of the sky and you disappeared. We-the pack-were really scared. We retreated from the Timers and Time. Then we dashed to the ground to find you, but you weren't anywhere in sight. Then Timers attacked us again and we were separated. I was able to stay with Willow for a while, but then a police intercepted us and asked for our I.D, which we didn't know about or have. Willow was taken in the police car and I just got away. I don't know what happened to Mac or Selena, or Willow for that matter. It was a disaster."

She pulled at a claw.

"Yes, this is bad," Robinflight agreed, "But you're really lucky to have found me, considering I'm the pack leader." Cora did not object to his claim of dominance, "Because if I've collected one of my pack, we can find the others, and you guys will have some control to keep you together."

"I'm happy then," Cora said, but Robinflight could tell she missed Mac.

"Well start with Willow in the morning," Said Robinflight, "But now we should sleep."

They slept down in a subway tunnel, and Robinflight fell asleep quickly.

His slept badly though, his dreams were of Selena flickering away and vanishing. He woke up constantly, but he could not shed off the dreams.

Finally the flickering and dying Selena spoke, "You must learn how to keep away jealousy," she said in a wavering, weird voice, "Or you will die from it."

And then he woke up for good.

XXX

Later, it was very dark. There was rain sleeting in thick sheets down upon Cora and Robinflight, so they both pinned their wings up over their heads. There wasn't even a glow from the moon. There were almost no lights here, they were in an older neighborhood part of the city. Actually, the neighborhood must have been almost ancient, because the buildings were sunken and peeling. The large yards were over grown with tall weeds, and the trees had started to spread long branches across the roofs and walls of the buildings.

Wait. There was something wrong. The trees were actually curling around any thing they touched, and choking it in green leaves. Trees didn't do that. Vines did.

"Cora," he said, and grabbed her arm, "Look at those trees. They're just…weird."

Cora looked, and cocked her head with confusion. "Yeah, that's really weird. Let's go investigate."

She stepped over to one house that had almost disappeared under tree tendrils. She pushed open a tendril-choked gate and they stepped across a lawn with the strange tree branches covering it thickly.

"Be careful," Robinflight warned. Cora nodded and then stepped foreword to the trunk of one of the trees. Its branches choked even itself.

Suddenly, a branch shot up and wrapped itself around Cora's ankle. She shouted as it pulled her through the tendrils and into the ground where she disappeared.

"Cora!" he shouted and dropped to his knees. Anxiously he pulled apart the tendrils until he found a dark hole going into the earth. That had to be where Cora had gone.


	15. Chapter 15: Crippled

_**Chapter 15, Crippled**_

Robinflight continued to dig at the hole where Cora had gone until it was big enough for him to fit through. He eased himself into it head first.

"Cora?" he called softly.

He appeared to be in a round stone tunnel. He would have to crawl to get around. The walls were made of soft sand and the floor was the same. There were no holes to let light in, and the tunnel spiraled into darkness.

He slowly began to crawl foreword, looking around for anything alive or dangerous. But the tunnel was silent, slowly sloping down and down.

"Cora?" he called softly again.

Abruptly he almost jumped out of his skin as a flock of frightened bats flapped past. He gasped and tried to calm himself. Then he crawled on through the ink-black tunnels.

A musty smell was reaching his nose, meaning these tunnels had not been used for years. Robinflight paused, looking around. Then he heard something, a sharp PSSST!

He leaped into the air and looked wildly around. He saw a dark haired head peeping out from the entrance of a tunnel a few yards away. He recognized the amber eyes. Selena!

Robinflight scrambled over.

"Selena! What are you doing here?"

"These are just some tunnels under the city," she said happily, "And they're completely safe from all predators. Like Timers," she added.

"Anyway, I have everyone with my here. Mac, Cora and Willow. And I'm glad you're here. I was really worried. Well, we all were." She looked him over, and then saw his wing, "What happened to your wing?"

"Uh…n-nothing." He moved it out of sight and looked down at his hands.

"You know you can tell me," she hissed impatiently, blocking the path with her arms crossed.

"It was shot," he said in a tiny voice. "And I can't fly anymore."

Selena looked aghast. "WHAT? You can't _fly_ anymore?"

"Yeah. I tried." He muttered.

"I'll look at it later," She said quietly and then led him through many tunnels until she reached a round room, lit by a hole coming down from the ground above. Cora, Mac and Willow were all huddled there.

"I've got Robinflight," she said. They all looked relieved, especially Cora.

"Come on, let's get settled," Selena said and started to scrape at the ground until she had created a shallow dip that she then lay down in.

Robinflight copied her actions and then lay on his back. The sounds of the others sleeping soon reached his ear, but Robinflight was far from slumber.

"What are you going to do if you can't fly?" Came a voice from his left, and he jerked up and saw Selena lying on her side, watching him.

"Huh?" he had thought she was asleep. "I dunno. I could try to stitch it, I guess."

She looked as if she didn't approve of the idea. "You'd just make a lot more little holes."

He gave a grunt. "I guess." He mumbled, and then, "I don't really want to talk about it."

To his relief, Selena didn't press it. "Ok," she said nicely, then rolled over.

Robinflight felt like there was a cold pit inside of him. He had crippled himself, and crippled the whole pack by having his wing shot. He should have been way more careful. He could usually see where the bullets were going. He had been too stupid to watch the certain one that had hurt his wing.

He listened to the eerie silence of the tunnels. But the silence was broken after less then a moment with a crackling sound, and then a voice.

"_Hello, Robinflight."_

Robinflight puzzled for a second then gasped. Jack!

_"I feel bad for you, my dear boy,"_ the scientist went on, "_You hurt your wing, and now you can't fly. But, if you just zip over to my place I'd fix it quick, so--,"_

NO I won't do that! Robinflight thought to him angrily.

_"A pity, dear boy, a pity."_

To you maybe.

_"I like your new place of safety. It's really sad the way you can't escape me. Dear little computer chips."_ Robinflight knew he was smiling.

I hate the way you act, Robinflight snarled to him.

_"Now that's sad,"_ Jack said.

OK great. Leave me alone now, alright?!

_"Alright,"_ Jack said and there was a crackle as he disappeared.

Robinflight let out a sigh of anger and frustration and then let his head clunk back onto the sandy floor.


	16. Chapter 16: Suicide

_**Chapter 16, Suicide**_

Dawn came quickly, but Robinflight and his pack were not aware of it. The darkness of the tunnels confused them.

Finally they left the big cave, and walked on until they reached the other end of the tunnels, where they pulled themselves through, until they stood blinking in the sunlight, but in a very peculiar place.

A sparkling, sapphire blue lake stood before them, stretching into the distance. With it was a glittering, large stretch of soft, sandy beach, dotted with shells. A few leafy bushes bordered the edges of the clearing.

"Wow," Selena said, "Tropical paradise!" She looked pleadingly up at Robinflight.

"Um…uh…sure. You guys can go play in the water."

Cora screamed and ran down to the warm lake and leaped in, fully clothed. Selena dived in after her and Mac waded out after Cora. Willow slowly walked up to the water, tentatively dabbing his toes in it. Then Selena, neck deep in water, waved to him, and he swam out to her.

Robinflight did not enter the water. Instead, he lagged behind, digging his toes into the water. He stayed on the beach for a long time. It was ages later when Selena sloshed to the bank. She walked up to him, squeezing water from her brown hair.

"Robinflight! There's some awesome stuff in the water. Like crabs! Come on and join me and Willow!"

"Um...Uh…No thanks, Selena. It'll be cold."

"No it isn't!" she protested, "It's really warm and nice." She glanced over her shoulder at the water, whapping Robinflight with her hair unintentionally. She looked at Willow and waved hard at him. He waved back and grinned and then examined the bottom of the lake.

"Fine." Robinflight said. There was a headache grinding through his head, a headache he did not understand at all.

He waded slowly into the water. Selena tugged on his, dragging him until he was neck deep. She let go of Robinflight and raced over to Willow.

"See? We found a crab!" she said, and then Willow passed her a strange, flat reddish creature with snapping claws. Selena dropped it when it snapped at her.

Willow grabbed her hand, which had a scratch on it.

"It's not bad," they said at the same time, and then both laughed. This made them laugh harder.

Robinflight sighed and backed away. He was aware of the sun, now in the center of the sky. He decided he'd let the pack play for another hour, and then they would move on to a safe hiding place. Maybe the tunnels.

He was not expecting the sudden change of plans.

He sloshed from the water, sighing when he realized nobody noticed him leave the sparkling lake. Nobody seemed to care about him. He had crippled himself.

He strolled up the glittering beach and stood beside a smooth, sandy rock.

"Hello again."

Robinflight froze up in fear, then groaned loudly. Jack _again_!

"Ah, please don't groan," came Jack's voice in his head.

Make me, he thought back.

"I don't really want to," Jack said.

Great.

"Anyway, I've got Timers all ready!"

I don't' care, he thought, and stood up, walking along the edges of the bushes.

"With guns!"

Be quiet.

Robinflight glanced up and realized a few darker clouds had rolled in, covering half of the sun. He continued to walk.

"I think I'll get you back Robinflight!"

Shut up.

"So soon! Sooner then expec-"

_**SHUT UP!**_

The strength in his own thought startled him, and he could hear a strange, surprised silence from Jack. He didn't care. He was done with Jack.

He stopped walking and dropped to his knees. He searched the ground with a roaring mind, until he found a sharp piece of petrified shell. Then he grabbed it and looked it over.

He was done with Jack talking to him. He was going to end it, and end him. He was going to break the connection.

Fury poured strength into the blow. He had crippled his pack. _He_ had messed then all up. This was his problem. He was going to fix it.

He started to hack hard at his chest with fury. He knew what was going to happen to him. He was going to die. Too bad.

Fast, quick strikes broke the circuits and wires protecting his computer chip. He hacked with anger. He hacked with sadness. Then he saw the red computer chip concealed deep within his chest, spinning in gold light. A tiny grin twitched the corner of his mouth. Then he pierced it.

That brought way more pain then he had expected. It was that pain that fills your whole body, and he screamed and tried to press his fingers against the hole he had just cut, but it didn't work, nothing was working, and there was blood everywhere, pouring out of his chest, and he couldn't stop it, and he could see Time over and over again in his mind…he was dying just like her…

He took a gasping breath as the pain ripped across his body. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he flung the sharp shell into his chest as he fell back…but he didn't hit the ground.

His fixed, icy eyes rolled foreword. Selena had grabbed his arm with one hand and was yanking him to a sitting position.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded, her voice shaking. Her eyes were wild and terrified. She wrenched the shell from his chest and tossed it aside. Then she grabbed both his shoulders and shook hard, looking into his eyes.

"Stop it!" she gasped. Willow appeared behind her, followed by Mac and Cora. "Why are you doing this?"

He could not look at them anymore, so he glanced at his bloody hands.

"Wanted to end it," he said brokenly and then clasped his hands over his eyes as rain began to fall around them.


	17. Chapter 17: Two Nervous Boys

_**Chapter 17, Two Nervous Boys**_

Robinflight did not move as he stared up at the star-streaked sky. His limbs were stiff.

He could hear Selena and Willow moving around behind him. He could hear them talking.

"He turned himself…into a human and a robot mixed. He has blood and can feel pain now, but he's still really strong and has some robot parts. He could have seriously done something wrong."

That was Selena. Robinflight listened, but didn't even twitch. He waited for Willow's answer.

"I know. He might not get better."

Selena was silent. Robinflight could tell she was looking at him.

"He has a broken wing, and a broken body. Just the kind of leader we need," Willow went on.

"It's not his fault!" Selena defended.

"Uh…yeah, I guess your right," he said.

"Anyway, now he's half _human_! He can bleed and feel some minor pain! And he has half guts and half circuits! I'll bet his DNA or SOMETHING is really unstable! He could die! Plus, electric parts shouldn't get wet! Blood is wet! He could um…blow up from the inside!"

Selena finished, and panted. Willow was silent.

"True," he said finally.

"And if he does die," Selena said, dropping her voice until it was saddened and exhausted, "I'll have to take over, and I don't know how to do that."

"Who said you would be leader?" Willow asked sharply.

"Um…that's sort of obvious."

"Says who?" Willow said in a cold, low voice.

"The world! How most dog packs are made!

"We're not dogs!" Willow snarled, and Robinflight heard him whip out his brown eagle wings. There was the sound of flaps, and air flowing through feathers. Robinflight looked up and saw Willow streak across the sky and disappear behind the deciduous trees at the horizon line.

There was no sound from Selena, but then Robinflight saw her stand up and take out her own wings.

"Don't follow him," Robinflight muttered. She whirled around and looked down it him.

"I shouldn't have said all that!" She gasped out, tear tracks on her cheeks.

"Too bad. Don't go after him. I don't want you guys fighting."

Selena glared at him, and Robinflight was sure she was not going to obey. But finally, with a snarl, she waded down to the still lake.

Robinflight watched her go. He felt like crap, with his chest split open and a headache rattling around in his head. He could see bones in his hand, and that had scared him, after seeing just flat skin there.

"Psst!"

The sound made his pop out of his skin. Not literally. Robinflight scrambled to his feet, whipping out inch long claws and raising his healthy wing talon so the almost black talon shone in the starlight.

"Come here!" said the voice, and a pale hand motioned for him.

Robinflight's curiosity took over and he came foreword.

"Into the bush!" hissed the voice. Robinflight slid under it and looked up at two boys.

"Hi." Said one.

"Hello," said the other.

It was Steve and Sylvester.

"Um hello." Robinflight said. Both boys gaped at him.

"To-the-point-, Steve." Said Sylvester in a weird voice with a rhythm to it.

"Oh yeah!" Steve yelped, and greasy black hair flapped as he jumped an inch into the air from where he was crouching. "Yeah I was wondering…Hi!"

Both boys cracked up, and then Sylvester smiled smally.

"Spit it out!" Robinflight hissed. Both looked put out.

"Iwswonderingfwcudjinyrpak." Steve mumbled in a speedy voice.

"PARDON me?" Robinflight said loudly, exasperated.

"I WAS WONDERING IF WE COULD JOIN YOUR PACK!" Steve bellowed.

"Oh. Thank you." Robinflight hissed. Then he considered the question. "Well, first, you have no wings."

"I-do." Sylvester said in the weird voice with the rhythm. He raised some Pteranodon (AN: sp?) wings. They were light brown.

"What about Steve?" Robinflight questioned.

"Not me," Steve said.

"Well, anyway, one, only Sylvester has wings, two, you probably can't fight, three, you have got to be fit to jump and move at any given time, and four, you have got to be able to get in control! I can't have you dorks messing around!"

"We could have tryouts," Steve said blandly.

"Hey! Great idea! In the morning, how about. In the meantime, you to can kip in this bush, and I'll just go back…"

**Please review! Yah, I know its Thursday but I'm home sick! YAY! Ok I have a forum for the Starlit Sky series, please check it out and do the poll I put on it. REVIEW NOW!**


	18. Chapter 18: Tryouts

_**Chapter 18, Tryouts**_

"Tryouts!" Robinflight said loudly the next morning, shaking everybody awake. Except Willow, who wasn't there.

Robinflight had thought on the tryouts idea hard, and he had decided to test everybody in his pack to make sure they had the right flying and fighting skills. If they didn't, he wouldn't kick them out; he would just work to make them better. Except Steve and Sylvester. If they couldn't punch a person down and have them sprawled in five seconds, they wouldn't be qualified and they couldn't join.

"What do you mean, tryouts?" Selena asked groggily. Robinflight made sure everyone was awake before explaining.

"Ok. Mac will go first, then Cora, because they're youngest," He said when he was finished. "And then Willow, who's not here, and then Selena. Um…let's see. I'll get Willow later. After that, Steve and Sylvester."

Mac walked up to Robinflight, looking nervous.

"Ok," he said quietly, "I want you to punch me in the chest and send me sprawling on the ground in five seconds. If I don't fly three feet away from you, then you won't qualify. If you can't get me down, then you also don't qualify. Its ok, I won't kick you out or hurt you," he added as he saw Mac's scared expression. "Just punch when I say go."

Mac nodded, swallowing. His little hands curled into fists and he raised one hand and pointed it at his leader's chest.

"Um…" He said.

"It's ok," Robinflight said. He braced himself.

Mac's squeezed his eyes shut as his hand shot out, connecting with Robinflight's ribs. With a gasp he staggered and lost his balance, until he tripped and fell. Unfortunately, he had not fallen three feet away from Mac, only two.

"Almost!" Robinflight gasped as Mac sunk to the ground sadly, "I'll work with you to make you stronger and better."

Mac nodded, his face white with fear.

"Now I'm going to attack you. You have to dodge then sock me so you can get away. Ready when you are."

Mac nodded and Robinflight ran foreword and leaped on him, ready to grab the kid's neck and strangle him to the ground. But Mac did a strange thing. With a grunt, he kicked out his foot until it connected with Robinflight's belly. Robinflight toppled over, wheezing.

"Good. You qualify for that part. Flying now! I want you to fly across the sky at at least one hundred and twenty miles per hour."

Mac nodded, looking surer of himself. He fanned out his grey osprey wings until they showed their ten foot wingspan, and then he burst into the air and streaked across the sky like a bullet. Then he came back and landed neatly beside Robinflight, grinning broadly.

"Well done! Well, your tryouts over." Mac ran to Cora and hugged her, then let her go quickly.

Cora stepped up, looking set. She managed to punch him down, and she dodged him when he struck and hit back perfectly. But her flying wasn't as good. She couldn't quite reach one hundred and twenty miles per hour. Robinflight told her he would help her become faster, and she ran back.

Willow still wasn't there, so Selena went next.

"Don't be light," Robinflight told her, and she gave him a scathing look then smirked. "Don't be a moron," she said.

Abruptly she slammed a well aimed punch into his chest that lifted him into the air and sent him sprawling in the lake.

"Was that hard enough?" she asked. Robinflight hissed at her and rolled his eyes. Then he lunged. Before he had even left the ground, she kicked him in the belly and the tripped him with her arm, sending him onto the ground where she punched him back.

"Maybe a bit harder?" she giggled. Annoyed and embarrassed, Robinflight heaved himself up.

Then se burst into the air and came back to fast her picture still lingered in the air.

"It's kind of obvious you're showing off," Robinflight hissed at her, "And its also kind of obvious why." Willow had come from the trees and was watching her.

She went red and then looked skyward. "Um…rain coming," she said randomly, then, refusing to meet Robinflight's eye, she asked, "Did a qualify?"

"Yes. Go." Robinflight glanced up at Willow, but the stony, mean look the blond haired boy was giving him made him really nervous. He would make him last of all.

So Sylvester walked up. He did not manage to send Robinflight sprawling, but he did dodge the blow the leader got on him and then sent him to the ground then. His flying also qualified. Yes, he could join. He had done good enough.

Steve fought well, but he could not fly without wings.

"Selena," Robinflight said, "If you can't fly with Steve on your back at a steady one hundred and twenty then he wont qualify because he's to heavy."

"What? Why ME? Choose a boy! Why me?"

"Because I picked you," Robinflight snarled, "Get to it."

So Steve jumped on Selena's back and she barely managed the speed, but did it. Steve qualified.

"Now I want everyone except Steve and Sylvester to choose another pack member to fight with each member should have lost at least five drops of blood and have a black eye. Ok?"

Cora chose Mac and Willow chose Selena.

"Ready, guys?" Robinflight asked them.

Cora and Mac both nodded. Selena laughed and said, "I won't attack him, I'll just kiss him!"

Cora said, "Sel_ena_!" and then Selena stared at Willow, mortified.

And then she turned around and ran into the trees, her face streaked with tears.

Finally, after some confusion and fear, Willow stepped up for his tryout. He ran foreword and whacked Robinflight in the jaw so his head snapped to the side.

"Hey! I said chest!" the leader shouted.

"I don't care," Willow snarled. He kicked Robinflight in the knees.

Fear started in the blue eyes boy, and he lashed out blindly. His fingers hit Willow's face, and with a _sischt _sound his claws unsheathed and he raked them across Willow's cheek and nose. He shouted as four blood tracks appeared. He grabbed Robinflight's leg and spun him until he hit the ground. His breath left him in a whoosh. Willow glared down at him.

"Get a life, moron," he snarled then kicked dirt over Robinflight's face and left the pack leader to die.


	19. Chapter 19: Hate and Love

_**Chapter 19, Hate and Love**_

It was fear that was inside Robinflight's heart, twining itself with shock. There was blood spurting out from him, making him unable to get up.

Then he felt two thumps and Cora was brushing the dirt off his face. Mac's frightened, fast breathing roared in his ears. There was the sound of footsteps running away, then coming back a second later. Then someone, who he was sure was Mac, was pressing bits of lake-wetted cloth to his wounds, cleaning away the blood and the dirt that had fallen inside the gashes.

"Oh please, please, please, please be ok, Robinflight," Cora whispered, "Mac! Run and get me some water!"

Mac ran away and returned ten seconds later. He handed a sopping piece of cloth to Cora and she squeezed it onto Robinflight's eyes. He felt the drops splatter against his closed eyelids.

"Please wake up Robinflight." Cora said softly to him.

"'Salready am…" he muttered. He heaved himself to a sitting position.

"Oh yay!" Cora and Mac cried at the same time.

"You guys were awesome," he said, patting their heads. But his mind was whirling with urgency. He had to go and find Willow. Now.

He bounded off in the direction of the forest, his injuries aching harder with every step he took.

He was plunged into instant darkness when he stepped into the thick canopy of the trees. Things moved slightly in the shadows. Robinflight's eyes surveyed it all.

He jerked his head up abruptly as he heard the sound of two people quarreling. He walked the slightest bit foreword until he could see into a clearing. Two people leaned against to trees, facing each other with their arms crossed.

It was obviously Selena and Willow.

"Ok. Say that again to my face." Selena snarled.

"I attacked Robinflight."

"My god your stupid," Selena snapped, "Why did you do that?"

"A couple of reasons," he said, rolling his eyes, "The faster he dies, the faster we get him out of the picture! He's always there every time we try to hang out, trying to get in. God, you don't know how annoying it is! We haven't had a decent twenty minutes alone together yet! I want to be alone with you more, but that stupid brat is there! Second, if he dies you can take over the leadership and things would run better then."

Robinflight ground his teeth as waves of hot fury came from him. How _dare_ Willow comment on his leadership?!

Selena lifted her foot and placed it against the tree trunk. "I guess your right," she mumbled.

That was the worst of it. Robinflight deg his hands into his pockets and tore the fabric. Selena had _agreed _with Willow, when she was loyal to Robinflight and the pack! She was his friend, and here she was joining Willow in ratting him out!

He held in his snarl, though, wondering what would happen next.

"I do wish he would let us alone," Selena said, looking down at the mossy, leaf covered forest floor.

Willow's yellow eyes bored into Selena's amber ones.

Selena stood up from her tree and walked over to Willow. Robinflight held him breath, knowing the unpredictable girl was going to punch the blond haired boy.

"But now that I think about it," Selena said in her normal voice, "We've had about 19 minutes without Robinflight for the first time…one more minute and it'll mean he's dead." Willow looked down at her, an emotionless expression on his pale face. Then Selena stood on her tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck, and they pressed their lips together while Robinflight felt like he was going to pass out.

He struggled to keep the white hot fury from overtaking him, and then he stepped into view and smiled.

"Hello," he said smoothly, "Miss me?"

**Yeah I'm only 11 so its not to great…Whateva…I Like the pairing sort of, because Selena's one side of it, and Selena was sort of…um…all survival and toughness. Yeah. So now she changed.**

**Ok, anyway, I would like to warn everyone about fanfiction 'author' warr1orfreak ****(User id****1408622)****Is pretending to be me and has posted the book that will come after this one, but currently its only four words. Please feel free to block, ban, and flame him/her. They have also stolen my complete profile, so I changed my own.**

**Another thing! I have a forum for this series, and a poll with it! If you can, please check it out!**

**Now review, please!**


	20. Chapter 20: It Was Over

_**Chapter 20, It Was Over**_

Selena and Willow both looked up at him and Willow gasped. Pale eyebrows met in the middle.

"I am _revolted _with both of you!" Robinflight said in a cold, angry tone, "You disrespect me, attempt to kill me, then run away and fall in love! Great people!"

Willow looked angry. Selena looked upset.

"I thought that you knew that I liked him," she said.

"Oh, I knew you liked him!" he snarled, "I just didn't know you would run off for it!"

"I don't want people running off and kissing in my pack!" he shouted, "It takes up useful time!"

Wait. He shouldn't have said that. He shouldn't have said that last word: Time. Uh-oh. Here came the memories.

Pictures flashed through his mind, still not growing fuzzy, even though that had been over three quarters of a year ago. In his mind he saw Time when he had first met her, a small black cat, Time fighting the Timers…and Time's eyes, mirror like. He saw that over and over again. It would not go away. Never.

Wait. There was something else. It was not just Selena and Willow kissing each other. It was also Time kissing him. Now he remembered it perfectly.

_She pulled herself right up to him, and placed her hands on his chest. Robinflight could almost feel the waves of hatred coming off her._

_But Time did not hit him. Instead, she came closer still and kissed him right on the mouth._

Her red eyes were inches away from his own, swirling with crystal light. It was too much. Too much.

He zapped back to reality and found Selena right in front of him, her arms crossed.

"What did you just say?" she snarled, "Did you just imply that we have to work and fly and fight only? You mean we can't even make friends? That it's just on the run all the time? Oh my god you're making me mad! So there's no time for other, real life here? If that's the case, I'm not staying here!"

She glared at him, and then abruptly when on, "Oh and Robinflight, in case you had forgotten, _you loved Time! _You did the crappiest job of hiding it! You went searching for her, and you walked like you were in a dream! And then you handed yourself over to Jack to get her! I know you, Robinflight, and if you think I didn't catch that, you need to get a brain check!"

That was actually true, he hadn't caught that Selena had noticed he liked Time. Did he really need a brain check? Robinflight hoped not.

"Plus, Cora and Mac both like each other a lot." Selena added.

"They're little kids!" Robinflight gasped out.

"Not very much younger then you," Selena hissed.

"What? I'm thirteen! Just like you! In fact, I'll be _four_teen soon!"

"Ha! You should act like it!" She snapped, turning back to Willow.

"Wait!" he shouted, "You should act like it too!"

"What if I already do?" she spat without looking back. She stood beside Willow.

"Maybe you should make it clearer!" he yelled.

"Maybe I already do so I don't have to!" she shot back.

"Maybe you're acting like a stuck-up prat!"

"Maybe I'm not!"

"Maybe I'm gunna kick you out of the pack!"

She froze, and then said, in a cold, deadly voice, "Maybe you don't need to because maybe I already removed myself."  
Then she turned and faced Willow, and Robinflight could tell by the look in the blond haired boy's eyes that he wanted her to kiss him again, but she did not.

Robinflight looked at her, and a great and terrible sadness welled up inside hi, threatening to break his legs.

He looked at Willow, suddenly furious at him.

"And you're the one who could kill a thousand rhinos just to get Selena to love you! Oh my god, I hate people like that! Do you have any other side? Or are you all just 'Selena lover?'"

Willow's eyes blazed bright yellow with fury and he paced foreword. Selena did not move.

"You are one-sided, stuck up and disloyal!" Robinflight yelled at the top of his voice, "Let's all hope you die!"

"Say that again." Selena hissed suddenly, glaring at him, "And I also think you might want to rephrase that. I know you meant, 'Let's all hope _I _die.'"

Willow looked like he was going to pass out from the look of fury on his pale face.

"Go ahead, hit me," Robinflight snarled, "See if a care."

As he spoke, a crashing blow was sent to his back from a clawed hand. Robinflight lost his breath and his balance and toppled to his knees.

"Do you really have to be such a bastard?" came am angry, cold voice from above him.

He now got a blow to the head, which sent him sprawling on his face. His nose skidded in the mud, hit a root, and broke.

It was Selena that was hitting him. She yanked him up from the back of his collar. He stood up, ready to fight back, but she slashed his face up, then side to side. Blood tracks appeared anywhere that one of the long, steely claws touched.

"Stop!" he gasped. She glared at him.

"To afraid to fight back? To afraid you'll hurt a pretty little girl?" Selena mocked in a raging voice.

"_SHUT UP_!"

She punched him, kicked him in the belly, grabbed Willow, then ran to the edge of the forest. They both jumped off a cliff and then flew away.

All Robinflight's feelings hit him in the stomach, knocking him down until he keeled over, his head smacking the dirt. He wasn't ready to let Selena go yet. But, he could never get her to come back with a broken nose and a flightless wing. They friendship was broken. It was all too obvious what had happened.

It was over.

**WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Selena ran away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! REVIEW! I added a new poll to my forum.**


	21. Chapter 21: Above the Clouds Once More

_**Chapter 21, Above the Clouds Once More**_

He was suddenly unable to move, as if his beating heart and turned into a little red bird and flown out his mouth, away to a person with a more promising future. He was only aware of the dark ground in front of his eyes and his own emotions, emotions he could not even begin to understand. Robinflight just knew, without knowing how he knew, that Selena was not coming back.

It was like an arm had been wrenched from him. Selena had gone, leaving him in shock and confusion. She had been there to teach him how to stay alive in the city as a weirdo kid with wings. Now she had gone, and where was he? He did not know.

The awareness of his body slowly came back, and he sat up, rubbing dirt from his forehead.

"Robinflight."

The voice was sad and soothing, and there was a hand on his shoulder, a small hand. He looked slowly around. It was Cora. Her bright brown eyes glowed with understanding. She had watched it. She knew.

Her grip made Robinflight stand up, and he walked stiffly, as if he was in a dream back to wherever Cora was steering him. She did not say anything, and it was better that way.

She was leading him back to Mac and Steve and Sylvester. Then she sat him down and gave him some water. He watched her move across the beach, creating long shadows in the late evening sun.

Cora gave Robinflight a small hug and then sat beside him, still saying nothing. But it was as if they were communicating without words. Robinflight did not glance at her as he slowly brought the water soaked rag Cora had given him to his mouth and began to drink the silver drops.

XXX

Selena and Willow had stopped flying and had built a fire. Selena was feeling happy and hyper. She was currently pretending she was some weirdo telling the story of his life.

"Well, so then my like…you know…house catches fire, just on my counter. And everyone's screaming and yellin' and having fits, but I just walk up and put it out with my _face_. Boy, I was the talk of the rest home for then on…boy oh boy was I…"

XXX

Robinflight stared blankly out at the surface of the lake, at the tiny dots that reflected the starlight in the pre-pre dawn light Cora and Mac were sleeping close by, surrounding him incase anything attacked him in his weakened state.

But now they were snoring. That plan wouldn't work.

He was suddenly aware of a shadow moving on the other side of the lake, hidden by the pine trees. His neck hairs stood up. He was suddenly aware of how alone and isolated he was right now.

_Shut up, _he told himself, _you can fight anything right now. Never give into fear._

He stood up silently and started moving toward the place where the shadow had appeared. _Better to attack it first, and take it by surprise._

He slunk around the lake slowly, hunkered over. To make himself feel better, he slid out his claws and raked them across a tree.

His feeling of strength vanished as he suddenly saw the shadow again, much, much closer. His blue eyes were wide, reflecting light from the moon and stars. He searched hard in the darkness. The shadow was gone, blended into the deep blackness of the forest.

He raised his head on his neck to search among the trunks, unblinking and still.

Then there was a screech. A leathery, bat like creature threw itself at his chest, and Robinflight saw a pale face with pointed fangs pass through a shaft of moonlight. The impact hit him in the lower neck, he choked and thumped to the ground. All fear had left him, to be replaced by fierce courage.

He rolled over, and smacked the creature in the back with his wing talon, breaking something. The creature gave a screech again claws made blood racks in his face. He punched whoever or whatever it was, until he heard a gasp. He kicked it off, and it sprang; he doubled over but sent his knee into its gut until its weight was thrown from him. Then, the leathery, crumpled thing spoke in a growling rasp.

"I hate you."

"I can live with that, considering I don't know you." Robinflight said, standing up and placing a foot on the creature.

"I don't care. But I can see you're injured."

"Huh? I'm not injured. And if I was, how could you have found out?"

The thing lifted a bat wing and pushed him off. Then it stood up into a human shape and shook curly, matted black hair from its face.

"Wrong on both accounts," it said in a female voice. "I know you're injured because you didn't use both wing talons to attack me."

It was Shadowflight, returned from her roaming.

"Why are you here?" he asked her.

"Cause I wanted to," she growled, "Gotta problem widdat?"

"Um…no. Ok, yes I am injured. I have a bullet hole in my wing so I can't fly,' he told him mother.

"You idiot," she growled, then grabbed his wing and surveyed the hole with a sharp, beady green eye.

"Bad. Ok. I think I've got some thread around here…" she pulled a loose thread from her shirt and put it through a needle she had gotten from somewhere. Then she stuck the needle into his wing, beside the hole, and started to stitch it up.

Robinflight gasped in surprise and pain and she stared to sew the hole.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked her.

"Well, if I left it there, you wouldn't be able to fly. There, you're done. Now you can fly." She pushed him away.

He looked at the hole, now sewn up. "Ok." He said. He flapped his wings and his healthy wing hoisted him into the air. The lame wing sent pain signals up his spine. A tiny bit of air leaked through the sewn hole. Robinflight flapped harder, and abruptly he broke through the stuck position and burst into the air, up through the trees and over the lake, the lame wing working fine.

He swooped through the cool air and then dive bombed for earth, landing on the cool mossy floor.

**Review! Please. Ok, I know that warr1orfreak is going to copy this chapter and paste it on his/her own story, so here is a note that will go on his 'story.'**

**If you are reading this please note that I, warr1orfreak, did not write this story, and that warriorfreak- The real one did. I, warr1orfreak are a disgusting, rotten person and I copied the true warriorfreak's story ideas and series plan. I, warr1orfreak, am a stinking idiot who will soon be banned from fanfiction. I, warr1orfreak suk more then any author.**

**PM me if you are confused about the above statement.**


	22. Chapter 22: Accepting the Truth

_**Chapter 22, Accepting the Truth**_

Early winter turned to late winter, bringing with it heavy snowfalls. Robinflight walked through the snow around the lake, helping Cora gather wood for a fire. The snow was deep, at least two and a half feet thick.

Robinflight gave Cora his bundle of wood then turned as Shadowflight walked up to him.

"Robinflight, you've got to move away from here," she said in a dark, concerned voice, "Before we all drown in the snow."

Robinflight's frozen breath caught in his throat. "I can't." he muttered and then started plowing through the snow away from her.

"Wait!" Shadowflight called after him, but he didn't turn around.

He knew why he couldn't leave. He couldn't leave Selena. What if she decided to come back and he was gone?

He scolded himself for thinking that. He had thought it all the time. It had been almost two months since Selena had left with Willow. Robinflight was almost 14, and he still thought about her coming back. He was being stupid, he knew it, but he couldn't leave her forever. He still wasn't ready to let her go.

Robinflight could almost hear what Cora would tell him if she had found out he was still wanted her to come back. _'Robinflight, you have to move on. There are others you will meet as you walk your untrodden path. Life will go on.'_

Robinflight thought about the soft understanding Cora always had. Wait. Skye had been like that too. Both were acutely tuned in to how Robinflight felt. Sometimes Robinflight wondered if part of Skye had gone into Cora when he died.

He moved along into the forest, thinking about Selena, A picture swam into his mind. Selena and wrapped her arms around Willow's neck, and then they pressed their lips together…Robinflight closed out the thought.

And then he thought of Selena way older, in a house, sitting with a much older Willow as they laughed together. Selena was balancing a baby on her leg and a five year old boy was playing around the couch by Willow's head. Then a teenager entered the room and shouted something to his parents. Selena shouted back, "No, get it yourself, Zach!" the teenager gave a snarl then walked into the kitchen.

The kitchen in the house owned by Selena and Willow.

Robinflight's legs collapsed under him once again, and he touched his eyes. He was surprise to find tiny frozen tears around them.

He would never, ever see Selena again. He would never be able to see her again. She was going to marry Willow, and they'd have a huge family. It was over.

Why couldn't he accept it?

Robinflight plowed through the snow with a small bit of anger in his stride. He entered the darkness of the pine trees and knelt by the base of a tree and hunched over.

He could not stop crying. He could not end the memories and thoughts. He could not end the sadness.

He was learning that it was over, and he could not accept it.

He let out loud, little sobs and wiped his eyes again and again, his shoulders shaking. It was never going to end.

Suddenly he heard quick, frightened footsteps. Robinflight did not stop his crying or look up.

"Robinflight? Robinflight!" Someone was hurrying toward him, but he did not look up. He did not care.

Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder, and Cora pushed his head up gently and her brown eyes searched his own.

"Are you ok?" she whispered.

She looked at his tear stained face and his wet eyes.

"She's gone!" He sobbed out, and then dropped his head. "She's gone."

"I understand." Cora whispered. He looked into her eyes and knew she truly meant it, and yet he could never believe it.

**Wha! I almost cried. I hated writing that. And then again it was fun all the same. Please review!**


	23. Chapter 23: Fight, Blood and Mind

_**Chapter 23, Fight, Blood, Mind**_

Cora left Robinflight alone in the forest. He stopped crying and stared blankly out into the trees.

XXX

Selena shivered from cold as she flew through the icy wind beside Willow. He looked sideways and sensed her feeling of discomfort. Then he swooped for land and let Selena alight beside him.

"You don't have to cater to me," she growled good-naturedly.

"I'm not. I just wouldn't want you to be cold. Who likes being cold?" he whirled around and kissed her full on the mouth.

For the millionth time.

Ok, to be honest, Willow was beginning to bother Selena. All he ever did was kiss her. Why couldn't they be a little more like simple friends? She was fourteen now, and she wanted to act a teensy bit more mature.

They flew on later in the day, and then landed in a snowbound forest. The sky was getting dark, so Willow cleared away some snow to make some places to sleep. He lit a quick fire and pulled a dead rabbit from his backpack. He stuck it on a stick and began to cook it over the open flame.

Selena fidgeted in her giant fur coat, which Willow had gotten her at a department store. It was warm, and she liked it, but it was a bit heavy.

"I'm not hungry," she said, watching gunk drip into the fire from the rabbit.

"Huh? Oh, ok." Willow said. He finished the rabbit, then ate the whole thing. After that he put on his won fur coat and sat down beside Selena, wrapping his pale arm around her until she rolled her eyes.

He stared into the dancing flame.

"I love fires on cold nights," He said in a quiet voice.

"So do I," she agreed, knowing what was coming.

God, she was right. Willow turned his face and started kissing her like she was about to leave him forever.

AWK, it got annoying! Was there any depth to this guy?

Later they lay down to sleep. Selena watched the forest with narrowed, cool, amber eyes. Finally she leapt up as she saw movement through the bushes. Panting like an excited wolf, she began to pace foreword, her claws glinting on her fingers.

"YATCHT!" she bellowed and leaped onto the moving thing, sending knee-blows into its back until it crumpled. She knew instantly what the grey furred creature was. "Get out, Timer!" she chopped in on the shoulder with the side of her hand. More Timers appeared, surrounding her with a half circle. At least they didn't have guns.

Selena dove at the guy in front of her and spun, whapping him with her wings. Then she brought the talons down on his skull till it broke and he slumped down.

A Timer leaped to her. She caught it by the arm with an unsheathed hand, and then threw him away from her.

"Stay away from me," she warned as some Timers swarmed slowly up. She balled her hands into fists and then raised them to her chest. She rocked back and forth and her feet. "You don't wanna come any closer, mister…" she muttered.

And yet, of course, the stupid brute did. Instantly Selena's held up arm tension sprang foreword so her fist knocked him in the jaw. He went down with a splat.

More Timers came up. One lunged on the ready, and Selena dodged then grabbed him. He thrashed out with paw-like hands until they caught the side of her face, pulling her to her knees. She staggered to her feet as it hung onto her, battering her with claws. Then she lowered her head and charged foreword, twisting from the grip until it was forced to let go.

The Timer leapt up, baying. She smacked its jaw. It howled and fell on the side of its huge ribcage, then leaped up again. The muscles carved into the sides of it had saved it from having a few good many broken ribs.

Selena took another spinning blow so she could swipe the Timer with her wings. It shouted, then reached through the leather and grabbed her back, flipping her upside down. It raked her face going down then raked her face sideways, making a neat criss-cross of blood tracks. She gasped and choked, and managed to send a blow to his side with a curved hand. He staggered under the intense impact but lunged at her, knocking her to the ground.

She struggled, having lost the advantage. It pounded her chest, then flung her far away until she hit a tree, gasped, slumped down, and passed out.

XXX

Robinflight stood up and moved his way through the snow laden trees, watching a few squirrels push through the blanket of whiteness and run across it to another tree which they scrambled up. He continued to walk on slowly through the forest.

His breath made white clouds of mist in the air. He watched them swirl away. Then he trudged on.

Something strange broke the peaceful, quiet sounds of the forest. Robinflight sped up the slightest amount, and then whirled around a tree and came to a tiny clearing.

There was something at the base of one of the beautiful, snowy trees.

He stepped foreword quickly and then froze as he saw a human slumped at the trunk of the pine.

It was Selena, her amber eyes glazed and her skin very pale.

Hyperactive sensors went off in Robinflight's brain. What had happened to Selena and why was she here?

He was confused and shocked. He leaned over Selena and touched her cold cheek.

She gasped and life sprung into her eyes. "Willow? Huh? Where am I? What happened? Who are you?"

She focused slowly on Robinflight's face, and the excitement died from her eyes.

He could not speak, but he could feel his energy and hers reaching out to each other, and he felt scared by her.

"Did you…?" she whispered, and did not go on as both stared unblinkingly at each other, Robinflight leaned toward her and Selena hoisted up on her arms.

"Do you feel alright?" he asked in a soft voice.

"I-I fell like I've lost my mind!" she gasped and looked away as her shoulders shook. Robinflight distracted his gaze from her, then grabbed her shoulders and shook her until she looked into his eyes, and then he felt her go limp.

"I think I might be dying," she whispered.

Robinflight let her drop to the trunk of the pure white tree where she was totally silent.


	24. Chapter 24: Flying at Mach 4

_**Chapter 24, Flying at Mach 4**_

Robinflight watched the thin, white snowflakes fall on Selena's face and melt. His limbs were iced to the ground. The girl he thought he would never see again, had come back. WHY?

And then he was aware of the sound of something heavy moving through the woods behind him. He turned around and saw grey furred beasts stepping through the snow, standing upright with muscles on their flanks.

He stood up and slunk foreword, raising his head ever so slightly to look into the yellow eyes of the blood hungry beasts created by Jack.

One Timer nudged his fellows and they all looked over at Robinflight, curling clawed hands into fists.

"All we have to do is scoop him up. He's the one Jack wants," whispered a certain young Timer.

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Robinflight screeched, and then he lunged at the Timers, who instantly prepared to fight back.

Robinflight delivered a roundhouse kick to their knees; two Timers spun with the impact one jumped up and landed on Robinflight's shoulders. Robinflight bucked and tossed him off, and then spun to slice his claws through the Timer's nose and face, making his double over. Robinflight jumped on the tiny advantage, stomping the Timer's shoulders. It crashed its arms through his legs. Robinflight fell from the Timer's back, landing in the snow. He thrashed out of it, but while he was standing up, the Timer grabbed his head in the kind of hold that would rip it off if he moved anymore.

Robinflight snarled, but he did not make any movement. He looked down at the Timer's boot, and carefully moved his own so it stamped hard on the Timer's boot.

The Timer yowled and then tightened his grip on Robinflight's head. He did not breathe.

There was a scream of an eagle, then a swoop of wings and air. The Timer shouted and released Robinflight. He looked up to see Sylvester dive-bombing the Timer, just pulling out of his pelt to the ground and flying up. Mac then spun down into the clearing, knocking Timers on the head with Steve on his back. Steve was grinning and shouting, "YES! Give it to them straight, kiddo!" Then he stood up on Mac's back and promptly fell off. Mac swooped under him and caught him, then flew on.

Robinflight searched the snowy skies for Cora. A second later, a tree erupted in a whoosh of leaves. Cora turned herself face foreword, folded up her wings, curled her arms in front of her chest and raced at mach 2 at a Timer, knocking him flat to the ground.

A different Timer roared with anger and sprang to his feet, snapping out his mangy grey bird wings and taking flight after Cora.

"You think you could really catch me?" she shouted. She sped up, and there was a minor sonic boom as she entered the speed of sound. Robinflight watched the tiny blur of color flit around the sky, his grin growing wider and wider.

He flapped out his own wings, speeding up, flattening his arms to his chest, racing after Cora, catching all air currents possible to reach her speed.

Come on, he told himself, come on!

Then the strangest thing happened. Hs wings seemed to suddenly snap out of the painful flapping, and then seemed numb beside. Robinflight looked down at the ground, and found no ground, just brown, blurred brown.

He had to be going at least mach 4.

Robinflight stood up until he was standing in the air, zipping along at the speed of sound. This wasn't hard, or scary, it was _easy_.

It took him a long time to slow down, a long time just to come out of the speed of sound, and a lot longer to come to a stop. He turned around and raced back at the same speed. Then he landed on the ground. Sylvester, Mac and Steve were fighting the Timers. Robinflight stepped foreword, and suddenly he realized something was wrong.

Selena was gone.

He gasped dropped to his knees, crawling to the place where she was slumped by the tree. She was gone. Not there. Vanished.

"Selena?" He whispered

And then he heard her. He raced foreword and then stopped. She was speaking to Willow.

"I've found the pack," She said.

"Oh no! Now we have to move away from this pretty place."

"No," Selena said, and she stuck out her jaw and leaned foreword. "I'm tired of you and your shallowness. Consider yourself alone." She turned and stalked off.

Robinflight retreated back into snowbound forest-and into the awaiting claws of a Timer

"Somebody wants to see you." He hissed, and pushed Robinflight into a sack. Robinflight struggled and kicked, but he could not get out.

"AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he bellowed.

The sack was lifted up, and carried by many Timers, and placed in the back of a pickup truck. The truck started up, then rumbled off.

Robinflight stopped screaming and yelling. Oh, how he hated the Timers! He ground his teeth and turned red in the face, his body heat going up. Oh, how he hated his dismal life! Why did people mate? Why did they need to reproduce themselves? Oh, WHY COULDN'T HE BE DEAD?!

He shook with sobs and buried his head in his arms.

Abruptly he stopped and stared at his hands. Oh my god! He thought, I've been crying way too much! Who am I? What am I doing?

He frowned and glared out at the walls of the sack.

Soon the truck came to halt. A door slammed as the Timers got out, and then the sack, with Robinflight in it, was lifted into the air and carried a long ways. There was a panting and grunting, and the bag swished in the Timer's grasp. Then the sack was released and something, like a hook, carried him up for a long time and then turned right and carried him sideways. Then it dropped him on the cold ground.

The top of the sack was torn open, and an impatient Timer face appeared at the gap. It reached in and pulled out the boy, and instantly handcuffed him. Then it stepped back to its fellows to converse, and only then could Robinflight survey his surroundings.

He was on top of a huge mountain peak. Other peaks stretched up around him, treeless and hard white. Tiny ice pellets sleeted from the sky, hitting the mountains. There was only snow at the base of these giant, craggy hills, and the rest was made of solid, packed, slippery white ice.

There was a castle about thirty yards away, a half-ice moat surrounding it, with a rotting, sagging, wooden drawbridge across it. The castle was made of pure stone, with turrets and great wooden entrance doors, along with barred, slanted windows.

And oh, it was so cold! The wind whipped him in the face, bringing little ice pieces with it.

"Someone wants to see you," A timer snarled gruffly, pushing Robinflight toward the castle.

**I, warr1orfreak, am a dorkish weirdo with a thing for stupidity. My mind is a blunt, dull thing that has absolutely no imagination or creativity of its own. I, warr1orfreak am such an idiot that a resort to copying and taking other authors work and claiming it my own, and I, warr1orfreak do this in full awareness that I am being a retarded freak. I, warr1orfreak, suck more then any other thing alive.**

**Review.**


	25. Chapter 25: Jack

_**Chapter 25, Jack**_

Robinflight was dragged over the drawbridge with his hands tied behind his back. Ice strung his cheeks, and he stumbled across the rotting wood. He stepped on a half eaten board, and it crumbled to nothing. He shouted with surprise and a Timer pulled him up. Ah. They weren't killing him yet. How long would it last?

Two Timers, holding spears, guarded the door. They dipped their heads stiffly and stepped aside to let Robinflight and the others pass. Then they stepped back in place as the door slammed.

Robinflight looked around. They were standing in a tiny, grey, cobwebby entrance hall. The Timers strode promptly over to a large box that looked like a gambling machine and pressed a huge red button that read 'start' on it.

The machine buzzed to life. The screen turned on with a flash. The words appeared on the screen, as well as were said by the machine in a stiff voice: Please type your command here.

The Timer snarled and punched in the words, 'Open welcome system.'

The screen changed, and the voice said, "Thank you. Please state your name, status, number and purpose."

"My name is Crud, I'm an officer, my number is 602359819347, and I'm here to take a prisoner to the cell." The Timer snarled in a rushed voice

"Excuse me, please state your name, status, number and purpose." Droned the voice.

"Crud, officer, 602359819347, prisoner to cell," The Timer reeled off impatiently

"Your answer was unclear. Please state again."

The Timer screeched a swear word at it, and the banged his fist into the machine's side, bending the thin metal. He roared and jumped on it, crushing it to one flat piece. He kicked it aside and leaned against the wall, panting.

"God, Crud! Control your temper! Now we can't get in!" Snarled one Timer, approaching the raving one.

"Shut your fat mouth, Barney!" Crud, the mad Timer shouted. He wiped the sweat from his thinly furred forehead and then approached a blank part of the wall. He got his gun, and fired it at least fifty times, until he made a weird round hole in the material, which he stepped through.

The other Timers muttered insults and followed him, jerking Robinflight along with them.

The new place was very different. He was plunged into the bright, white light of a modern room. The Timer's plowed right through it, not glancing around at all.

The other rooms were the same, futuristic and bright.

Finally, Crud pushed Robinflight into one room, still handcuffed. Robinflight landed on the floor face down, his nose streaming blood. He thrashed, unable to get up.

"Here, let me help you," Came a soft, soothing voice, and gentle hands lifted him up into a kneeling position. Robinflight looked up into simple brown eyes and the blind haired face of a maid with a kind smile. She unhooked his handcuffs gently and helped him to his feet.

"Over here," she said, and steered him to a large cot. She put him down on the bed and pulled the covers up to his neck. "Sleep well," she said. Robinflight managed to glance around at the rest of the room. It had mostly beds in it, and sleeping boys of various ages in those beds.

All snoring.

Why couldn't they control the impulse to fall asleep? They knew it was a dangerous place…

Robinflight's eyelids were being pulled softly downward. He shuddered and kept them open. He knew he couldn't sleep.

FLUMP!

He fell back on the bed covers, gone from consciousness.

XXX

Robinflight awoke to a light filled room and a warm bed. Soft voices drifted past him. He opened his eyes and looked around. Boys huddled on beds, speaking softly to each other. Nobody seemed all that scared or worried. Robinflight sat up. He would find out the answer to that later.

"Morning boys!" called an entering maid, "Get ready for breakfast!"

A few minutes later a different maid came in and led the boys through well lit halls and into a wide dining room. There were two long tables in it. One already was packed with laughing, talking eating girls. The other, Robinflight assumed, was for the boys.

He sat down gingerly on the bench. The kids squealed with glee and fell upon the food, throwing it into their mouths as if they were half starved.

But they weren't. They were all actually a little chubby. So that didn't make sense why they would be _so_ eager to eat.

Robinflight, starving as he was, decided not to eat.

The rest of the day Robinflight traveled with the boys to various places: exercise then lunch and on and on.

Finally they were led back to the dormitory. A maid poked her head in, smiling as usual and said, "Randy." She stepped into a room as a random boy stepped up and bowed is head meekly. She turned him around and fastened a pair of handcuffs to his hands. He walked to the bed and lay down.

In the morning he wasn't there. There was just a bed, already made and everything.

The following nights, boys were handcuffed in the evening and gone the next morning. Robinflight was starving from lack of eating. He refused to eat the food the other boys fell upon so excitedly.

Finally one night, Robinflight was called up. He walked slowly up, unsure. She maid smiled and then snapped handcuffs around his hands. As soon as she left, Robinflight tried to break apart the chain connecting his hands.

None of the other boys noticed him, or even looked the least bit frightened that one of them had his hands tied together. But their weird, unafraid, dim demeanor all added up to something: there was something in the food they were eating.

"Hey, kid," Robinflight hissed to a fat boy sitting on the bed next to him. A chubby face turned in his direction. The pink, pudgy eyes were droopy.

"My name's Logan," he squeaked in this high, little voice. He looked only about 9, whereas Robinflight was 13.

"Yeah. Cool. What's up, Logan? Anyway, do you know why I'm handcuffed?"

"No."

"What about anybody else."

"They don't know either."

"Great."  
Robinflight was suddenly aware that all the boys in the dormitory were looking at him, with none of the happiness they used for the other boys on their faces. Robinflight had to be one of the oldest, most were only ten or eleven.

"Why are we here?" Robinflight inquired to them. They all looked at him with confused, stony faces, like they wondered why anyone would inquire about their existence in this weird place. All because of the hateful food.

Finally some kids shrugged, but the ones who had been under the effect of the food for longer did not.

"We don't complain," Logan squeaked, "We're just here."

Robinflight, having only been there for three days, did not yet know the run of this place. "Well don't they hurt you?"  
"Who?" asked Logan and one other boy.

"The Timers."

"What're Timers?" Logan asked dumbly, his fat mouth hanging open.

"The guys who put us in here. They look like half human, half wolfs."

All the boys gave him confused, almost scared looks, "Nobody put us in here," A twelve year old boy finally said, "We came by ourselves."

Robinflight was shocked. These boys had come to a high, freezing mountain top, to a place they didn't know, by themselves? Who would be drawn to that? Who would want to leave their safe home and family?

Suddenly, the word family struck home. Robinflight had no family. He had Shadowflight, and she didn't care about him. He had no warm house where he could come home to at night. He never got to sleep in the same bed every night, never got to share a meal with his family…and these boys had. They got presents on Christmas. They got tucked in at night. (AN: I don't get tucked in, but those are the basic, 'family thoughts') Maybe they thought about everything differently. They probably never acted without thinking.

Robinflight looked at them and bewilderment. "You all have families?" He asked them croakily, but forbidding himself from crying.

"Yup." Logan said while the other boys all nodded.

"And you left them? Just like that? To come here?"

"I can't remember," Logan said in a simple, well-that-ends-it-now kind of voice, and turned away.

"I don't even know. It's not important," said another boy. Other boys muttered similar.

Finally it was night, Robinflight fell asleep instantly, welcoming the silent darkness. But there was neither. Instantly, he had a dream. It was something he couldn't remember, something that had happened when he was very young.

"I don't want him. I am not a mother and never will be. And I don't want to have a kit destroying the alone time you and me will have."

Robinflight looked up, but couldn't see anything; it was all in foggy darkness. Piercing green eyes looked cruelly down at him. He turned his head and saw softer, sadder, amber eyes. Who was it that did not want him? Where was he to go?

The eyes left. He watched them go. The green eyes looked back once, now inscrutable. He met them and didn't look away. Then the green eyes were gone, leaving Robinflight all alone, and the darkness started crushing in around him, pressing his ribs together, compressing him. He gasped for breath and tried to call out, but the grip on his throat was so strong in constricted his vocal cords.

Then he felt as if his energy was being pushed up and out, away, and he was like a burning ball of radiant, dazzling, intense light, and he popped from the pressing darkness of his body and was blasted into the air, just a pulsing blaze of energy and power. Then he landed, and had his body back. He hated it there.

Robinflight awoke with a jerk. It had not been an accident that he had no family, no home. It had happened on purpose. Shadowflight had not wanted him, and his father, Robin, had not protested. He just looked sad. They didn't care. Robinflight wanted to attack Shadowflight, to rip her open and beat her up. He told himself off, knowing that he could never manage to get to her, considering she was such a great fighter, and also, she cared about him, a little bit. Just a little.

He leaned slowly back into the bed, and when he fell asleep he had another dream. He was inside Logan's mind. He was in a little house in the suburbs, following the chubby boy around. Logan waddled out into the kitchen.

"Mom? Can I have some Cheetos? I'm hungry."

"Sure, kiddo," said a fat lady, handing Logan an orange, well labeled bag. "Eat up."

There was a sharp, angry knock on the door and Robinflight jerked up. Logan's mom, looking worried, hurried to the door and opened it. "Yes?'

"Feeling hungry?" said the person on the threshold, an overdressed lady with her hair tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a navy blue suit and holding a can of some food thing.

"Well then you need, TishBish UntraFood! Good in every bite. Open wide!" she ducked in and sprayed some liquid from the can into Logan's shocked open mouth. He gulped. And then looked at the lady bluntly. She strode slowly, purposefully away. Logan waddled after her, looking as if something was urging him after her.

"No, Logan! Don't go! Come back! Logan! LOGAN!" The mom was shouting in anguish, trying to get her son back. Logan ignored her and continued to walk after the strange lady, until they disappeared behind a hill.

Once again Robinflight jolted awake. He scrambled to Logan's bed. The chubby boy was snoring loudly.

"Logan!" he hissed, "Wake up!"

"Huh?" he said, his eyes springing open. He saw Robinflight. "Oh."

"Why did you follow her? What was in the food?" Robinflight pressed in an urgent whisper.

Logan seemed to know what he was talking about instantly. He drew himself up, wrapping his arms around his legs.

"It-it tasted like…like _death_." He choked, his eyes filling with scared tears, "I hated it, and yet I wanted to have so much more of it. I loved it, but I hated it. It made my legs start to walk, and I just followed her, the lady with the spray of food. I couldn't stop, and then she lead me here. And the food here-it tastes the same. So good, but like death. I can't stop eating it. But it makes my memory go all weird, and sometimes I forget why I'm here, and then later I wonder why I am. And its just like I'm here, and that's what is. I'm not sure why the foods so weird. Mealtime scares me, but I get so excited at the thought of eating."

"Logan," Robinflight said seriously, "You've got to stop eating the food. It's messing with your mind. Its gunna kill you."

He hiccupped. "Ok."

"And there was something else. When I first arrived here, there were people sitting out front, and I really noticed their eyes. They were both dark and large, and deep set. They seemed to be reading my heart. No, _eating_ it. I was so scared I could barely breathe. One was man with no cheeks and one eyebrow, with pale green eyes, and the other was a girl, your age, with black hair and _red_ eyes. They had these mean, satisfied smirks on their face, and they watched me without blinking. I was _terrified_.

Robinflight gasped as he realized who Logan was talking about.

"I know them," he said, "Jack and Time. Jack is here."

**Sorry for the lack of updates. I knew what to write and everything, but when I sat down to do it, I just couldn't write. Sorry. Review!**


	26. Chapter 26: Speechless

_**Chapter 26, Speechless**_

Robinflight lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, knowing he was probably going to be taken to Jack. He strained at the handcuffs and wished they would go away.

There was a bang at the door.

Robinflight sat bolt upright in bed.

The door creaked open and husky shapes stepped in carrying long sticks.

Someone turned on the light.

Just as Robinflight had suspected, they were Timers, and they rudely grabbed Robinflight from the bed and dragged him away.

Robinflight walked along with them, not resisting. Yet.

A Timer took out a huge ring of keys and shoved one into the lock. It clicked and the door swung open, revealing a dark room. The Timer tossed his into it and then left.

Robinflight feel down and landed on his face. He let out a small whine of pain.

"Hey."

A kind voice spoke to him, but not the same kindness the maids in the dormitory spoke with. It was more cool, more sleek, more hard.

"Here, take my hand; I'll help you up."

Robinflight started to raise his arm but stopped, wondering if this person were suspicious or not.

"Don't worry, I wont hurt you," said the voice.

Robinflight paused for another second before putting his hand in the air. Another hand grasped it, and yanked him up until he was standing.

He began to form a thank you on his tongue but instead decided on who this person was. He scrutinized it in the dark, taking in pale skin and dark hair. The eyes were narrowed so he could not see their color.

"Who are you?" he called into the gloom.

"Depends," said the voice, which was feminine, "I get called a lot of different stuff."

"I see." He tried to hear anything that might give away who she was. She was totally silent.

Then there was a clicking of covered bones bumping against each other. Robinflight made that noise all the time, when his wings hit each other. Maybe this person had wings! Perhaps it was Shadowflight, or Selena…who else? Who else was he missing?

"I'll give you a hint," the person said, "I like clocks."

Robinflight only had half a minute to take this in before a clawed hand swiped across his mouth, leaving blood tracks where Time had hit him.  
"We don't need you bellowing my name out to the world," the person, Time said. "Just keep quiet."

Robinflight was surprised at who it was, but also infuriated that she was saying he couldn't speak out.

"Let me say I am not half as welcome to you as I used to be," she said coldly, stepping foreword loudly, her boots echoing off the walls and floor.

"You mean you-,"

_SLASH!_

Another strike across the mouth shut Robinflight up.

"You killed me."

"I know I-,"

_SLASH!_

More blood gushed from his face from the fresh marks.

"You killed me," she repeated.

"And Jack brought you back to-,"

This time Time slowly brought her claws across his face, which made it hurt worse, and she stopped and kept her claw tips in his cheek.

"No talking."

"I-,"

_SLASH!_

She slashed his face diagonally now.

"Keep silent."

"Make me." Robinflight made an attempt to dodge the blow but got a slice across his forehead.

"You idiot," she snarled in a ringing tone, "You tried to make yourself human again, and now your twice as weak as me. We used to match. I remember it so well…" Her voice grew softer and she started drawing her claws across his chest without actually scratching him. "Right before you killed me, our strength matched. You ruined it for yourself, you DOLT!"

"I wanted it that way," Robinflight almost yelled, his voice shaking from anger and pain.

_SLASH!_

"Say no more, say no more."

Time smiled evilly down at him. "Nobody wants to hear your voice."

"EXCEPT ME, MAYBE!" Robinflight bellowed, racing foreword and slashing his claws at Time. She sidestepped easily and stood there bluntly.

"I didn't think you of all people would speak just for the pleasure of hearing your own voice."

"I don't. Just don't make me be silent."

"That'll be hard for you to control. The only way you can stop getting that face messed up is by not talking."

Robinflight fell grudgingly silent, but he was planning an attack on her.

"A Timer shot your wing, but I can see your loyal little friends fixed the hole for you. How touching."

"I couldn't fly! I crippled the pack! They didn't do it for me; they did it for their own safety!"

_SLASH!_

"Shut, Robinflight, shut."

"Why don't you-," _SLASH!_ "-want me not-," _SLASH!_ "-talking?" _SLASH!_

"Because it's my turn now," she sneered into his face.

"When-," _SLASH! _"-wasn't it?" _SLASH!_ He coughed out.

"It's never been my turn," she whispered,  
"Now I'm taking charge." She hit him so he fell onto his back. He hoisted his self up on his arms.

"Sounds like-," _SLASH!_

Robinflight grabbed her clawed hand and wrenched it away from his face. He held onto it tightly, ignoring the feeling of her claws piercing into his palm.

"Sounds like you've had a pretty hard life then," he choked in a strained voice, afraid to press a hand to his nearly ruined face.

"Shut up!" she screamed, and started twisting, but her uncontrolled fury did not give her the fine, concentrated strength all robots needed to be the stronger.

"Sounds like not even Jack never let it be your turn, Time," Robinflight grunted, struggling to hang onto her hand.

"Jack has been just like a father to me," she said coldly, regaining control. Momentary panic fluttered in Robinflight's chest, he wanted her blindly lashing out, cause then he could beat her.

"You've never had a father," he sneered, and twisted her arm. There was no click as it stopped; instead he just turned it around and around.

"Like the newest version of robot joints?" she hissed in a mean, satisfied voice. Then she leaped foreword and grabbed his own arm, twisting it hard. There was a crack then a pop, and extreme pain, and the arm hung uselessly.

"Wrenched. Dislocated." She said simply. "Idiot."

He whimpered in pain, then grabbed his arm and pushed it hard into his shoulder. It did not relocate.

"I must repeat myself," Time snickered, "Idiot."

"Just shut up," he grunted, and shoved his arm back into its socket. This time it popped in with a click and remained there, the pain disappearing.

"You never should have tried to make yourself human…" she whispered.  
And it was true; Robinflight knew she had a point. He had not thought that maybe, if he became human after clawing apart his chest, he would meet time again. And he had, and he was so much weaker then her now.

As Time continued to talk, Robinflight's mind began to form a plan.

_My only chance is to run away from her…I can't fight her, but I could get away…Maybe I could break down the wall…_

Time looked away as she spoke, and Robinflight saw his chance. He sprang to his feet and dashed for the wall farthest from Time. Instantly he slammed against something and fell back, cracking his scull on the ground. Time had flung out an arm to stop him.

Robinflight lay panting on the ground.

"You cannot escape." She hissed in a barely audible voice.

She gave him a well aimed kick and he sprung up, flinging out his arm so it struck her face. She staggered and looked surprised, but then regained composure and unsheathed her claws.

Like lightening, she gave him a well aimed slash from her claws, cutting open his skin. He whirled around, swinging out his arms until they bashed her. Then he ran to the wall and jumped on it. His head crunched with pain his body thundered down, before breaking free. He lashed out blindly and realized he was falling.

**Please review! I'm so mad. My internet connection is like, all so not working. (bad imitation of girly girl voice.)**


	27. Chapter 27: Guns Were Raised

_**Chapter 27, Guns Were Raised**_

Robinflight managed to open his eyes a crack and saw swirling dark grey/blue above him: The sky, turning darker from the setting sun. He had broken out of the building and now he was falling down. He twisted, and realized that he was falling off the edge of a steep mountain slope. He opened his wings and slowed his process before he hit the icy side. He slid down, digging his wing talons into the slick slope so he didn't rush to the bottom and die. He knew he could not take off from here, it was too weird of an angle.

He slowed and bumped into the bottom of the mountain, into a small valley between many slopes. He was buried in ten feet of freshly fallen snow and he thrashed out, blinking icy water from his eyes.

It was completely dark in here, the sun, which had almost set, did not reach down into the valley. He scrambled to the top of the snow and flapped his wings, lifting into the air. Robinflight did not want to be in view of the building, so he flew low to the ground, barely five feet above it. He skimmed along the wall of the canyon, and instantly spotted a cave in the side of the white/clear snow. He peeked in. Something was in there.

He unsheathed his claws and landed inside the cave on his hands and knees. He began to prowl foreword, keeping his wings up above his head, incase anything attacked.

"Who's there?" came a voice from inside the cave. Robinflight stepped into view. The people inside were his pack.

Robinflight dropped his guard and came in closer.

"Why are you here?" he asked them.

"We followed you," Selena hissed, "What would you expect?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking to see who was there. Mac, Cora, Steve, Sylvester, Selena and…Willow. He was pulled up in a corner, hands around his knees, avoiding all gazes.

"I saw Time." He told Selena later as the rest of the pack began to nod off to sleep, "We were talking."

"Was she the one who cut your face like that?" She asked coldly.

"Yeah." Robinflight said. He pressed his hands to his face, and a huge amount of dried blood crumbled off it.

"Better," Selena observed.

He lay down and thought about how he knew the Timers were going to come back, and that this cave was temporary relief. Anger shot through him, and he sat up sharply.

"They're going to come to get me," Robinflight said loudly. All the pack looked up and listened.

"I hate this," his voice rose, and he realized suddenly…

"I don't want Timers coming and getting us! This is my freaking fourteenth birthday! Do you think I want to spend it this way?" he paced back and forth, clenching his fists.

"No we don't. We know you want it different," Cora said softly.

"Yeah, I want it different! I REALLY DO! I HATE THIS!" he kicked his foot into the ice wall and he took out a sliver of it.

"But there's nothing we can do about it," Cora went on.

"Yeah, and I get that too! BUT I WANT IT TO CHANGE!" he raked his claws across the wall and managed to scribble, in messy handwriting: HELL HERE. He smiled in satisfaction.

"And I hate this cave! I hate the cold! I hate being here! I hate having no family! I hate these freaking…BOOTS!" he grabbed his boot, identical to Time's, and started to tear at the leather, gripping it with his teeth and raking his claws through it.

"Stop," Cora said, putting her hand on the boot. He dropped it, and she took it away.

"What does it say, on the wall?" Selena asked in a emotionless voice.

"'says hell here." He muttered, feeling embarrassed about loosing the grip on himself.

Willow and Selena exchanged glances with raised eyebrows.

"I'm going back and I'm going to kill Time." Robinflight said. Nobody made any comment. Nobody seemed to want to prevent him from doing so. That surprised him. He thought they would whine and cling to him, begging him to stay with them.

"We'll stick around," Steve and Sylvester said at the same time.

"If you need us just holler," Selena added.

"We'll always be there for you," Cora said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Mac nodded in agreement. Willow glanced around then looked away nervously.

"Th-thanks." He croaked. He walked to the edge of the cave. "See you soon."

Robinflight ran to the edge of the cave and opened his wings. There was no breeze, not even a breath of air so he wouldn't be able to coast. He would have to come in noticed with his wings flapping.

He started to beat his wings and abruptly his feet left the ground; he turned horizontal and flew up and out of the canyon. He went farther up and up until the strange building he had been in was a spot, and the canyon was a dark line.

XXX

Two Timers looked up at the sky, hoping that the icy weather just might clear. There was no glimpse of blue sky in the pre-dawn light, so they sighed with disappointment.

"Some big bird up there," grunted Max, one of the Timers.

"Stupid thing. Probably starving. No food out here, and I'm certainly not sharing mine."

"You can say that again," said Max.

There was a tap on the other Timer's shoulder and he whirled around.

"Who's there? State yourself or you're gunna find nine bullets in your chest."

"Excuse me, but I've got a bit of authority around here. I, as a matter of fact, am Jack's daughter."

"Jack has no daughter, you dolt," snarled the Timer, unable to see the person through the gloom. Deciding this idiot was not worth his time, he spun around to face the other way again.

His shoulder was tapped once more.

"I want to talk to you. Give me your attention for five seconds, will you?"

The Timer hissed with rage and stomped around. "_WHAT DO YOU WANT_?!"

The so far invisible person still remained calm. "I want to so that mouth of yours shut, but for the time being I shall refrain. I'm very good with time, you know," she added.

The dim-witted Timers did not catch onto the clue.

"You really are dumber then I thought." She stepped into view with a ripple of her black hair. The Timers stood staring before they both kneeled and dropped their guns at her feet.

"Where did you learn _that_?" The person, Time snarled in a voice full of disgust, "You don't kneel like I'm a queen!"

"Yes ma'am-sorry ma'am said the Timer's in perfect unison, scrambling to their feet.

"I must have a word with Jack about this," Time muttered. _Then again_, she thought, _he never really takes action on anything I tell him._

"Can the humbleness and listen to me," she hissed bluntly. Both Timers snapped to attention.

"That big bird you see? That isn't a bird, you sick, sniveling little dorks. It's the thing, or shall we say, human mutant, that Jack really wants."

The Timer did not catch on.

"Gosh, you guys _really_ need a smartness chip! Why does everything have to be relayed to you in clear format at all times? That's _Robinflight_, you idiots! Now, I expect you know what to do? Unless I need to relay it to you clearly?"

"No ma'am," said the Timers. They spun around as Time whirled back to the building and guns were raised.

XXX


	28. Chapter 28: The Letter

_**Chapter 28, The Letter**_

Robinflight, circling overhead, was not able to see the Timers pointing their guns at him so he did not proceed with caution. Instead he continued to fly slowly, seeing where he might want to land.

XXX

"I can't believe we thought that thing was a bird," muttered Max to his Timer pal as he looked through his gun, pinpointing the fast moving target.

"Yeah…hey, he's going away! NOW!"

Both Timer's fired off their guns. Max's barrel slung back and hit him in the head. He fell over back ward, tripping over the other Timer.

"Hey! I still haven't fired!" shouted the other Timer, "And I just did and you made me miss!"

"No, you made _me_ miss!" Snarled Max, "You made my barrel sling back so I shot in the wrong direction! You blundering bling! I _hate _you!"

"ME? What the heck did I do, you sick little moron? I was aiming! YOU made me miss!"

"LIAR!' Raged Max. He leaped on the other Timer and the two tussled on the snowy ground, punching and kicking and snarling.

Suddenly, Max began to slip down the icy ridge to the bottom of the canyon. He gave a thrash and grabbed the other Timer, who hissed and tried to shake Max off him. Max slipped farther and began to slide quicker, he screamed and the other Timer whirled and wriggled, trying to get away. Both thundered to the bottom of the canyon, and fell through the snow, unable to move.

XXX

Robinflight heard gunshots and he pulled his wings in. Two bullets whizzed by him, but at least five feet away. He saw tiny things moving on the ground below. Timers. He knew it. Now aware of their presence, he made a giant ark around the building, heading steadily lower until he landed on the icy, steel roof.

He looked around and started off, aware anybody might be ready to spring out and kill him. Carefully he walked to the edge of the roof and half-jumped, half-flew down until he landed on the packed ice. He searched for a door and found one. It was sealed shut. He raked his wing talon across the steel until it broke. Then he jumped into the building. He was in some sort of hallway.

Random people walked down the hall, stepping on the dark carpet, walking underneath the bright, white painted walls. Maids, Timers, guys in white coats…all serving Jack, so it seemed. None of them seemed to notice Robinflight or the broken door.

The winged kid did not want to walk down the hall, in full view of the Timers. Perhaps they would notice him then, and shoot him out?

Robinflight jumped, suddenly spotting a store closet about thirty feet down the hall and on the opposite side. There were white coats hanging inside it, and Timer's guns. Maybe he could get a coat on and act like the scientist. But he would have to get into the store room first, and then meant walking in view of the Timers.

He waited until there was small break in the stream of people, and then he darted into the hall. Instantly, the people looked around at him. A Timer raised his gun. Robinflight, standing in the middle of the floor froze completely, staring fixedly at one point of the wall, not breathing, not blinking. Timers were immensely stupid, and would hope fully think he was no longer there.

It worked! They paraded on past without looking at him. Robinflight finished the dash across the hall and skidded into the store room. Timer's had watched his progress, so he sunk into the stuff inside the closet in fear of being seen, melding with the shadows. The Timer's eyes searched the room for a minute before they moved on, convinced that Robinflight wasn't in there.

As soon as the Timer's dropped their search, Robinflight yanked a white coat from a hanger and threw it over his shoulders, buttoning it up hurriedly. He grabbed a clipboard with a few papers on it. He ignored whatever it said, and was just about to step into the hall, when something caught his eye, something on the paper that was resting underneath the clipboards grip. He read quickly.

NEW SPECIMEN ALERTED TO THE LAB

Contained in room 7,689 is a complete list of living humans prepared for analysis and full abduction. Find by Dr. Ken T. Retain to alias for final test by Dr. Jack S.

1100100110011010000101101

11001010110110101101

Full gateway to scan one.

Secret enclosed in final test by H. M. S.

Heartbend Medical Services (Forged)

Robinflight stared blankly at the garble on the letter. He was slightly interested in the thing about humans ready to be tested. He assumed Dr. Jack S was Jack, but he could not be sure. He was confused by all the ones and zeros, and then it said H. M S. and Heartbend Medical Services below it. Could that be what H. M. S. meant? And what did forged mean?

Suddenly curios about the meaning of the scientific talk, Robinflight looked away from the paper, to return to it later. He sifted through the other papers on the clipboard, and found them either covered in ones and zeros or blank.

He stepped into the hall and stepped deliberately down the hall, scribbling nonsense on the clipboard, like all the other scientists. He looked into all rooms he passed, wondering if maybe Time was in one of them. But he did not find the red-eyed robot anywhere, so he continued on, following a different scientist, a few yards behind so it didn't look like he was tracking him.

Finally, Robinflight was almost ready to crack from impatience. Where on Earth was Time?

"Excuse me sir?" Robinflight tapped a new scientist on the shoulder. He wore long glasses and had short brown hair and a receding hairline.

"What?" he asked coldly, looking seriously annoyed that someone had interrupted his journey down the hall.

"Do you have any idea where Time is?"

"Why do you want to know? She's probably with Jack."

"Um…ah. I see."

"Unfortunately, I have no idea why an immature scientist like you would need Time. In fact, nobody needs Time."

"Jack does." Robinflight said without thinking.

"Excuse me? Time has free reign over the building. Nobody needs. _I_ certainly don't." He made it clear he did not like Time.

"Well, where is Jack presently, then?" Robinflight finished up frantically.

"I," he said stoutly, "Have no idea." And he paraded off.

Robinflight watched him go blankly. He did not think geeks like these scientists would be _rude_. How strange.

More people passed. A Timer even stopped to ask him, "You ok sonny?" Robinflight nodded and he left.

Robinflight continued down the hall, wondering where Jack might be. Maybe if he could find Jack, he could find Time, and attack her. He probably wouldn't win, but that was not important.

Finally he peeked into a room and saw a man in a white coat bending over a well lit table. The back of the head was covered in short, dark brown hair. Maybe it was Jack? Maybe it wasn't.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Yes?" grunted the man without turning around.

"Do you know where Jack might be?"

"He's right here," mumbled the man. He seemed extremely focused on something Robinflight could not see.

"You mean you're him?" He asked.

"Yes," said the man, who seemed to be Jack, "I assume you're a Timer for the way you seem really slow to catch on…"

Robinflight blushed, "Actually sir, I'm uh…Dr. Randy J."

"There is not Randy J here," said Jack, still not turning around, "There's a Randy B, but I don't assume you forgot your own last name."

"I'm sorry, sir, you must have heard me wrong, could you please tell me where Time is?"

"I'm sure Time doesn't want to see you, Robinflight. Why don't you scat before I test your innards?"

Robinflight gulped and felt his heart stop. "How did you-,"

"Your voice, your voice, dear boy. Goodbye."

Robinflight ran down the hall, and into some Timers. They were unarmed but looked extremely dangerous.

"I shoudda known," chuckled one Timer, and his group burst into hideous laughter. Then they circled Robinflight, and sprang at different intervals, each aiming for his face.

Robinflight unsheathed his claws and lashed out, slashing one Timer's face. It fell, and a new one jumped and fastened scraggly teeth in his shoulder. He yelped and scratched out blindly, before he went down in a mass of half wolf beings.

Then there was a screech, and someone shot into the room with her claws unsheathed and her arms stretched foreword. The Timers jumped up and whirled, but the coming new terror attacked them viciously. It was Shadowflight, bravely slashing her wing talons through the Timer's chests.

The Timer's cried and one jumped up to challenge her. "Bet you can't get me," He hissed. She grabbed his face and forced his head around until it popped off. "Bet you I can," she hissed back.

The Timers were in a mad frenzy of anger and fear, slashing and running and screaming, as Shadowflight destroyed them with easily bites and scratches. One Timer thrust a clawed. Hairy paw into her stomach, and she gasped, doubling over. But instantly she regained composure and killed the Timer with a quick bite to the neck. Finally, the two remaining ran in terror, tripping over the bodies of their fellows.

"Robinflight," Shadowflight asked, "Why are you wearing a white coat?" 


	29. Chapter 29: Troublemaking

_**Chapter 29, Troublemaking **_

"Don't ask," Robinflight said, as Shadowflight stepped over the bodies of the fallen Timers, "Just a reason."

"Ok." She nodded. She opened her wings and lifted into the air without flapping and flew off.

Robinflight watched her go, then sprinted away from the bodies of the Timers, in fear of being caught above them. He realized there was a blood stain on his coat from a scratch on his chest, and that looked like he had been in a fight, so he dashed into a lab and stained some chemicals all over his coat.

As he stepped out a maid scuttled up, "My, that's a dirty coat! Would you like a fresh one?"

"Yes please," he said.

"I'll go fetch one," she said and dashed off. Robinflight took the change to run in the opposite direction.

"Excuse me, sir," said a low voice, "Would you please step in here please?"

Robinflight whirled around and almost crashed into a Timer, who snarled in impatience, and then led him toward a steel, steaming door. He pushed it open.

"Lab X tests, I presume," said the Timer and left, leaving Robinflight in a steaming, hot room.

"You're the scientist who's supposed to test on us?" Came a voice from the gloom. Robinflight looked around, unable to see anything.

"Cause we wont let you, buster," a second voice drifted through the mist. Robinflight stepped foreword and said, "Selena?"

She swam into view, with the rest of the pack behind her. "Robinflight?" Why are you wearing a white coat?"

"Don't ask," he said, repeating what he had answered to Shadowflight, "It's a disguise. I was pretending to be a scientist. Come on, lets get out of here. Wait- Why _are_ you here?"

"Timers caught us. SHHHH!!!! They're really close. Just get us out of here."

"Not in my book," snarled a Timer. Robinflight turned and saw a gun barrel pointed right at his forehead.

XXX

Time waited in her room. It was barely decorated, with a white cot in one corner and a wooden dresser in the other. Time had no tastes, no preferences; she did not care. To her, that was trivial stuff with no important or effect on anyone. She sat on her wooden desk, swinging her legs, wondering if anyone would come in and speak to her, or if somebody needed her.

She had spoken to Robinflight, so that was covered. What else? She did not know.

Time slipped off her desk and walked into the hall.

XXX

"You shoot me and I break your face," Robinflight muttered.

There was a cracking and a gasp of pain.

"No need to," Selena said, "I already did it."

The Timer lay on the floor with a cracked up face.

"Two Timers fell into the valley and captured us," Selena said as the pack walked into the hall. "Dragged us to this place. By golly, what happened here?" they had reached the spot where Shadowflight had killed all the Timers.

"Nothing. Come on, move." Robinflight was once again afraid of being caught standing above the wolf creatures.

They hurried on. Abruptly, Willow was grabbed and flung up then hit against the ground by an invisible arm.

"I remember you," Came a cold voice. Both Steve and Sylvester where flipped, in the same way that Willow was.

"You two are new." The voice went on. Cora was flipped. Mac was flipped. "You're also new."

Selena hung back, aware that if she stepped foreword something would grab her.

"Come on…It won't hurt."

Selena dashed foreword and grabbed the arm, wrenching it into view. Time.

"Oh boy," she muttered, "This is bad." She stood up so fast you might have been able to hear a minor sonic boom and pushed both of them out the door, after Willow, Steve, Sylvester, Cora and Mac. They slid down a steep, icy slope and landed on the bottom. Immediately, there were shouts and Timers started flooding down toward them, trapping them in a circle.

"YOU!" Spat Mad, the one from a long time ago, "You're charged of twenty six crimes! You murdered twenty seven Timers, and many other things! We've had it with you!"

"You kill me and Jack kills you. He wants me alive."

"Or DOES he?" snarled Mad.

"As a matter of fact he does," said Time, "I just spoke to him. He would like Robinflight to be reported to him immediately."

The Timers snapped up and started swarming toward the pack. Time turned and ran toward the building. She returned in a second with Jack, who was wearing a white lab coat and looked annoyed.

"STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled. All the wolf/men ceased their attacking.

"Robinflight won't come by brute force. How about using bribery? He comes, and one of his friend's life is spared. He doesn't come, and his friend's life is ended, but his life is spared. Now, obviously he is closest to Selena. I will not choose her for certain special reasons…"

Robinflight looked up at Jack. "Fine then." He said.

Jack smoothed his white coat. "That's no answer."

Everybody was watching him. Jack was considering. "How about…this boy?" his long, thin fingers grasped onto Willow's shoulder and he pulled him right up to Robinflight so they looked each other in the eye. Robinflight mind raced hard. He was admittedly angry at Willow for various reasons, but Willow had been better lately, not so mean and judgmental or cocky. Robinflight looked at the hateful Jack, who was worse then Time.

"Hurry up," Time snapped. Robinflight glanced at her briefly.

Robinflight swiveled his gaze over to Selena. Willow also stared at her. She leaned on one hip and had her hands clenched into fists. Her gaze was almost challenging, challenging Robinflight to be brave or loyal or to kill her former boyfriend. Her dark gaze slid from Robinflight and lingered on Willow. He looked away. Robinflight's decision clicked in his mind like a light. He turned to Willow. The pale, blond haired boy looked up at him.

"I'm sorry for calling you one-sided." Robinflight whispered.

"I-It's ok." Willow muttered.

Only Selena seemed to know his decision. She looked angry and scared and upset.

"I see." Said Jack, "I see." He too seemed to understand. All the Timer's looked blank. Cora seemed to know his decision too. "It's ok." She muttered to Robinflight.

"I am not one to break my promise. I shall do what I said I would." Jack went on.

"Willow shall die."


	30. Chapter 30: A Well Trodden Path

_**Chapter 30, A Well Trodden Path**_

The Timers let out a roar of excitement, eager to see blood.

"I am clean. I am merciful," Said Jack, his eyes glittering. Yeah right, thought Robinflight.

"I am not going to murder Willow. That would be cruel." Groans came from the Timers. "I am going to push him off this ice cliff. It will be clean and soundless." Jack tightened his grip on Willow's shoulder and started to push him toward the ice cliff. It was a huge, steep thing with rolls of ice going down. You could see the separate layers, but you couldn't see the bottom. A line of icicles hung off the edge of the cliff.

"Wait - you sure you don't want to change your mind?" Jack asked. When he asked this, Willow looked away.

Robinflight stared silently at the cliff.

"Please, my dear boy, think fast. I don't have all day."

Robinflight made no movement.

"Kill him." He said. Willow looked around at him with an anguished face, eyes stretched wide with fear. Jack nodded.

"Kill HIM! Kill HIM! Kill HIM! KILL HIM! KILL HIM! KILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIM!" screamed the Timers, jumping around and waving their guns.

Jack shoved Willow hard and Selena screamed.

Willow twisted and lashed out, scathing his claws across the slick ice. He was clinging onto the edge of the cliff, his legs kicking in the air. He pressed his cheek against the cold surface and stared furiously up at them.

"Help me, you fools!" he spat. There was a second where he clung to the ice edge. Then with a shout he let go. Howling, he fell down. He went into a blizzard and was gone from all sight.

Robinflight lingered at the edge a moment, before he turned around. Everybody except Selena had turned away.

Jack looked angry. "I had thought you would choose your own death, Robinflight." He hissed.

"Then you thought wrong," Robinflight snarled, his hands curled into clawed fists. He was furious at the price he had to pay to show that Jack wasn't always right.

"But by golly, you should have chosen your own death. I am still going to take you away to my lab."

"_FREAKING BUNCH OF COWARDLY, SNIVELING __SCUM_!!!!" Robinflight screamed, lifting easily into the air and thundering down toward Jack. Robinflight was eight feet in the air, and he was sure he was going to crunch the scientist easily. Jack made a dodge and turned to run for the building. Robinflight, white with fury, streaked after him.

He tore through the building after Jack, who, with longer legs, had outpaced the winged mutant. Robinflight yelled in anger, banging into things. He came out in a huge, high roofed dining hall and leaped easily onto a table.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" He bellowed, "WHERE ARE YOU? COME OUT! I WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE!"

He saw a glimpse of something in a white coat flitting past.

"YOU COWARD! YOU STINKING COWARD! I HATE YOU!" Robinflight dove from the table and streaked after Jack, yelling himself hoarse.

"YOU SAID THAT YOU'D LET ME LIVE IF YOU KILLED HIM! YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE! YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T ONE TO BREAK YOUR PROMISES! DO YOU HEAR? YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE!"  
He legs pounded, he was numb to them. He could not feel anything but the white wave of fury engulfing him.

"I LET WILLOW GO SO I WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE DOING _THIS_! ARE YOU LISTENING, JACK?"  
He saw Jack running ahead at ease, far ahead of Robinflight. He snarled.

"I'M TIRED OF AVOIDING YOU ALL THE TIME! NO, THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO COME AND GET YOU, AND I'M GOING TO KILL ALL YOUR TIMERS! I'M GUNNA KILL TIME! I'M GUNNA KILL _YOU_!"

He hated the way Jack ignored him; he wanted Jack to shout at him, so they could go down fighting, but no, all he did was run, as if he had robot legs.

Robinflight raced foreword, and tripped, hard, over something. He fell.

"AAAAARRRGHHH!" he had no energy to get up, and he was left sobbing into the carpet. Almost drowned in self pity and anger, he grabbed up strands from the rug and threw them at the direction Jack had gone.

"I HATE YOU!" he bellowed. His voice cracked and broke, "You wrecked my life!" he screamed hoarsely. Now he could barely whisper. His hands twitched with the impulse to kill himself again, but he fought it down. He could not do that to himself now.

He had absolutely no idea what to do next. He stayed there, crouching on the carpet, for a long time, and then he stood weakly up, trying to get his bearings. Jack had gotten away, escaped into a building Robinflight did not know well. Anger surged through him, and he unsheathed his claws, and on each side of him as he walked down the hall, raked the wall paper hard, watching with satisfaction as little curls of paper fell from the wall, huddling on the floor below.

He found his way out and then walked toward his pack. They were the only ones there. Selena stood in front of a trembling Mac. "What happened?" Selena asked.

"Nothing. I just yelled myself hoarse."

"But you didn't…catch him?"

"I tripped. He ran away."

"It was wise to not follow him after you fell," Cora said, as if she could read his mind.

"Yeah….I guess."

"We're alone," Sylvester said abruptly.

"Yeah," Steve said, glancing around.

Selena asked the question for Robinflight. "What's your point?"

"We could slip away unnoticed." Steve and Sylvester said at the same time.

"Yeah," Said Robinflight, turned away, "Let's go."

As the pack opened their wings and cleaned the ice off them, Robinflight pulled the clipboard he had found in the store closet out of his pocket and glanced at it. Would he find out what it meant? He did not know. He tucked it away and opened his wings, wondering briefly what had happened to Logan and the other boys fro the dormitory. Then he realized that he did not care. He did not need to make sure everyone was alive and well and safe. His destiny was not to save the word.

The pack took flight. Cora zoomed up to him. "Let it go, Robinflight, let it go." Then she whacked him with her ginger wing tip and sped ahead. He streaked after her and the pack moved like a flock of birds across the freezing winter sky.

**The End**

**The sequel is called Small Expectations. My writing teacher pointed out that that sounds a lot like the title of the novel by Charles Dickens. I didn't copy, I didn't even know that book existed so don't worry. It is NOT Demon's Hollow. KK?? **

**Ok, SORRY for the lack of updates! I've been caught up with school, but I have been writing. I just haven't been updating. Please review, if your still reading. **

**Remember, Small Expectations!**


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